TOPIK is the one Korean certificate that Korean universities, scholarship offices and immigration counters all recognise. It is a single family of tests with an unusual feature: you do not register for a level. You sit one of two papers, and your total score decides which level you receive, or whether you receive one at all.
This page goes through who runs it, how the two papers and the two formats differ, what each level is used for, and how to prepare. Dates and fees change every year, so treat the figures below as the state of things in November 2026 and confirm them before you pay.
What TOPIK is and who runs it
TOPIK stands for Test of Proficiency in Korean, 한국어능력시험 (Hangugeo Neungnyeok Siheom). It is run by the National Institute for International Education (NIIED), an agency of South Korea's Ministry of Education, and registration in Korea goes through topik.go.kr. Abroad, Korean embassies, Korean Education Centres and partner institutions hold the test and take the registrations.
It is meant for people whose first language is not Korean, including overseas Koreans. There are three products under the name: TOPIK I, TOPIK II and a separate TOPIK Speaking test.
TOPIK I and TOPIK II: levels and score bands
TOPIK I is the beginner paper and awards Level 1 or 2. TOPIK II is the intermediate and advanced paper and awards Levels 3 to 6. In the paper-based test (PBT) the bands are:
| Paper |
Sections |
Total |
Level by total score |
| TOPIK I |
Listening (30 questions, 40 min), reading (40 questions, 60 min) |
200 |
Level 1 from 80, Level 2 from 140 |
| TOPIK II |
Listening (50 questions, 60 min), writing (4 tasks, 50 min), reading (50 questions, 70 min) |
300 |
Level 3 from 120, Level 4 from 150, Level 5 from 190, Level 6 from 230 |
Two consequences follow. First, there is no pass or fail for a chosen level, only a score that lands in a band, or below the lowest one. Second, the choice between the papers matters. A strong beginner who sits TOPIK II and scores 110 goes home with nothing, while the same person would have collected Level 2 on TOPIK I.
The writing section of TOPIK II is where most candidates lose their level. It asks for two sentence-completion tasks and two essays, the longer one an argued text of several hundred characters, all by hand in the paper version. Listening and reading are multiple choice.
Paper or internet: PBT and IBT
Since 2023 NIIED has also offered TOPIK as an internet-based test (IBT), taken on a computer at a test centre. According to NIIED's own leaflet, the IBT has the same levels and the same standing as the paper test, with fewer questions, less time and faster results.
|
PBT |
IBT |
| TOPIK I |
70 questions, 100 minutes, 200 points |
52 questions, 70 minutes, 400 points |
| TOPIK II |
104 questions, 180 minutes, 300 points |
63 questions, 125 minutes, 600 points |
| Level bands, TOPIK I |
80, 140 |
Level 1: 121 to 235, Level 2: 236 to 400 |
| Level bands, TOPIK II |
120, 150, 190, 230 |
Level 3: 191 to 290, Level 4: 291 to 360, Level 5: 361 to 430, Level 6: 431 to 600 |
| Writing |
By hand |
Typed on a Korean keyboard |
| Results |
About a month |
Within about three weeks |
The IBT bands are the ones NIIED published for 2025. Notice that Level 3 on the IBT begins at 191 of 600, a slightly lower share of the points than on paper, while Level 6 begins at 431.
Which to choose is mostly a question of your hands. If you type Korean comfortably, the IBT is shorter and kinder. If you have never typed Hangul under time pressure, the essay will remind you of it.
The speaking test
TOPIK Speaking is a separate, computer-based test of about 30 minutes, with its own score and certificate. It has six tasks that rise in difficulty: answering a question, acting out a role from a picture, telling a story from pictures, completing a conversation, interpreting data and giving an opinion. The 200-point scale is divided into six levels, from Level 1 at 20 points to Level 6 at 160.
So far it is held only in South Korea, three times a year. It is rarely a formal requirement, which means a TOPIK Level 5 certificate says nothing about whether its owner can order lunch aloud. Kungfucius would sit it anyway if you are in Korea: it is the only part of TOPIK that checks whether the Korean comes out of your mouth.
Test dates and where TOPIK is offered
The 2027 calendar, announced on 29 September 2026, has 15 sessions: six paper-based tests, six internet-based tests and three speaking tests. The first paper session of the year, the 110th TOPIK on 10 January 2027, and the first IBT on 20 February are held in Korea only. The other ten written sessions are offered in Korea and abroad. The speaking tests are on 20 March, 12 June and 23 October 2027.
Abroad, the picture is thinner. Many countries hold the paper test only once or twice a year. The United Kingdom, for example, had two sessions in 2026, in April and October, at five test sites. The IBT is so far offered in a limited and changing list of countries, most of them in Asia. Registration windows abroad close two to three months before the test, so check your local organiser early.
Fees, results and validity
In Korea the 2026 fees are reported as 40,000 won for TOPIK I and 55,000 won for TOPIK II on paper, 70,000 and 95,000 won for the IBT, and 80,000 won for the speaking test. Abroad, each organiser sets its own price: the Korean Education Centre in the UK charged £55 and £65 in 2026.
Results appear on topik.go.kr, where you can also print the score report. A TOPIK result is valid for two years from the day the results are announced. That is short, and institutions count the two years against their own deadline, not against the day you apply.
The Ministry of Education also announced stricter rules against cheating: a five-year ban for anyone caught, and identification limited to a physical passport or a foreigner registration card. Bring the right document or you will not sit the test.
What each level is used for
Requirements are set by each university, employer or office, so read their own pages. As a guide:
- Levels 1 and 2: personal proof of progress, some language-school placements, and a few points in points-based visa schemes.
- Level 3: the usual minimum for admission to a Korean-taught undergraduate degree, which is what the D-2 student visa follows from. NIIED states that Global Korea Scholarship holders must reach at least Level 3 during their language year.
- Level 4: asked for by more competitive universities and departments, and commonly required before graduation. It is also where many employers start taking the certificate seriously.
- Levels 5 and 6: graduate programmes in the humanities, jobs worked fully in Korean, and anything involving translation. Level 6 is required for foreigners who want the Korean language teacher qualification.
For visas, NIIED lists TOPIK as usable for obtaining certain visas, for permanent residency applications and in place of parts of the Ministry of Justice's Korea Immigration and Integration Program (KIIP). In the points-based F-2-7 residence visa, Korean ability is one scoring category, and a higher TOPIK level earns more points. For the F-5 permanent residence visa and for naturalisation, the Ministry of Justice works mainly with KIIP and its own evaluations, and the exact role of a TOPIK certificate depends on the route. Kungfucius's advice is to treat TOPIK as helpful there and to confirm on the HiKorea portal which proof your route accepts.
To place the levels on the European scale, see TOPIK to CEFR and the equivalence table. There is no official conversion.
How to prepare
Kungfucius says: nobody chooses their TOPIK level. The score chooses, and it has no sense of occasion.
- Pick the paper from evidence. Sit one past paper of TOPIK I and one of TOPIK II under timed conditions. NIIED publishes past papers on topik.go.kr.
- For TOPIK II, start writing in the first week. Learn the fixed patterns of the two short tasks, then write one essay a week and have it corrected. Practise in the format you will sit, pen or keyboard.
- Read faster than is comfortable. On paper, 50 reading questions in 70 minutes leaves little more than a minute each. Most candidates do not run out of Korean. They run out of clock.
- Listen to Korean made for Koreans. News clips and radio talk train the pace of the later listening questions better than textbook dialogues.
- Build grammar in order. A structured course such as Talk To Me In Korean covers the endings that TOPIK I and the first half of TOPIK II rely on.
How long this takes depends on your starting point, and on how Korean compares with the languages you already know. That question is answered at how hard is Korean.
What to do next
- Find out which level, and which format, your university, employer or visa route actually asks for.
- Check the next session and the registration window with your local organiser, or on topik.go.kr if you are in Korea.
- Sit a timed past paper this week to choose between TOPIK I and TOPIK II.
- Plan backwards from the test date with the TOPIK study plan.
