TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean Language):An Introduction

Hello, Welcome to the My Korean world. In this post you will come to know about the test`s format, scope, and what is asked.

TOPIK is to the Korean language what TOEFL is to English. It is conducted by National Institute for International Education (NIIED), Ministry of Education. It is conducted in Korea and also many overseas countries. In the last quarter of the year the NIIED announces the test schedules for next year. The purpose of the post is to introduce you the test importance,format and what is being measured.

1.Scope Of The TOPIK Score:

Content : NIIED Korea, Format-Hangeulnara.blogspot.com

The above usefulness of the TOPIK score are self explanatory. A good TOPIK score is like passport using which one can go to many countries  without visa. By the way Korean passport is one of those blessed ones. 
I was exploring to study in Hongik University, Korea for a particular course . It asks for minimum TOPIK 3 level to be eligible for application. Then before completion of the course one must get level 4. All the universities asks for the same lest the student is enrolling for a course which is available in English.

  I have experienced the usefulness of the score from the application of F-2 visa. I applied to convert my E7 visa to F2 using Point based visa system where one needs to get 80 points minimum to be eligible. That time my TOPIK level 4 credited me 16 points. If you are easily getting over 80 then it is okay. But suppose your total comes up to 79 then it is really hard to get that single point. Then improving your TOPIK score could be the panacea. 
  I have also observed that if someone has 6 level score then some universities have courses for foreigners without any direct tuition fee. This might be to increase the diversity in the class room. Though these students have to contribute working there for some minimum hours per week to avail 100% rebate. 
  There are few global companies which do not require TOPIK score but I recommend one to learn Korean and appear for test. This will give you a benchmark where do you stand among the other learners and you can keep challenging yourself. Additionally, you never know the TOPIK score may turn out to be the savoir in Korea or abroad. Well, in my case I did not had any particular obligations. But I took the tests to challenge myself. But believe me it is nerve breaking specially the listening one.



Please watch this video from the official TOPIK website which will give you an idea about the importance of the Test score: Courtesy topik.go.kr.

2.Year On Year TOPIK Test Takers

Below chart explains how Korea has become open to the global community and in turn the increasing importance of the TOPIK. Many foreigners are coming to enjoy the Land of Morning Calm and it is embracing them with the equal warmth. The TOPIK test, since its inception in 1997, has grown exceptionally resulting in soaring growth in the number of test takers Y-on-Y. If we compare test takers number between 2005 & 2018 then 2018 witnessed 10 times growth in 13 years. The graph is as steep as Sanbangsan mountain in Jeju Island .

YoY TOPIK Test Takers: Courtsey NIIED, Korea

Sanbangsan Mountain, Jeju-do. It is a made out of a single volcano and has a steep rise. One of the best thing I admire about Korea is that they live in harmony with the nature rather than fighting against it. One will agree to it when will come to know that more than 75% of the Korean land is occupied by the mountains. Everywhere Koreans has not struggled against them rather they have found out a solution to live with them. This thought is very frequent when one passes through a long tunnel, or sees high rise apartments in between mountains.

 3.Test Format & Marking System

TOPIK Exam Pattern & Scoring System.

I have tried to compress many information in the above chart which covers the details about the exam format and grading system. One thing I would like to caution is to understand that there are two different exams and while registering for the exam one must not get confused TOPIK I with level 1 and TOPIK II with level 2. For the first time users the topik.go.kr website is not so welcoming. It is more cumbersome to understand and navigate. Please be clear with the below:

1. TOPIK I which is for beginner levels 1 & 2 , Registration Fee KRW 35000.
2. TOPIK II under which intermediate -level 3 & 4, advance-level 5 & 6 come, registration fee KRW 40,000.

4.What Does TOPIK Test?

In both the tests TOPIK I and TOPIK II the questions covers below things. Be it Listening, Reading or writing tests the questions are framed to check how one is fit to understand the Korean language and Korean Culture at large. It needs a lot of preparations to clear this exam. When I was preparing for TOPIK I then I met one person who told me that he/she has been trying to get Level 4 (150 marks+) since couple of times but she/he could score only level 3 (120 marks+). So I think if one reads only book then it might be challenging to score well. Hence while preparing below things should be kept in mind:

• Practical Scenarios

The TOPIK questions are mainly from the interfaces that we have during daily life. For example in the listening test it might have a conversation between a customer and a salesman or between two employees in an office environment. That`s why I recommend to Immerse-in-Korean kind of learning. Because those circumstances from daily occurrences might appear in the test.

• Social Circumstances

The test targets to evaluate our understanding of social interfaces by framing the questions around them. It includes the interfaces like school classroom, a restaurant, mart, hospital, movie theatre, bank, bus, train, airport etc. For example, the there will be a documentary on some topic or lecture by a professor in a classroom scenario.

• Conceptual Clarity

They test the clarity of concepts related to grammar and vocabulary same as mathematics except writing test. In Korean there are many similar grammar and vocabulary. Their usage vary slightly with the situations. These things lead to different grading. Moreover Only writing gets subjective assessment of the examiner where some grammar or words may not be of his/ her taste. But the writing has one thing objective and it is the level of vocabulary and grammar used. If someone uses very simple ones then surely it will lead to less score. To get high score the writing standard should be really pleasant to read. 

 ⚠ TOPIK questions are never repeated . 

• Current Trends

There will be always few questions around the current trends from Korea and around world for example global warming, artificial intelligence . Few examples what I have seen are electric and autonomous cars. Out of 5 test I have appeared at least 4 times there were mentions of these technologies in some or other forms. So being up to date with the current trends will help in understanding the questions.

• Cultural Understanding

As we go down the question paper it gradually increases the questions related to culture, news paper, politics to certain extent. For example I had experienced questions related to King Sejong, the founder of the modern Korean language. If one know about his life, it would be a piece of cake to solve those questions. Because these questions are not formulated rather factual. It also includes questions from Korean novels and fairy tales. Questions will also include the Korean arts forms and their traditional musical instruments.

In ancient times this statue used to be put at the entrance of the villages. It is believed to protect the people from bad things.

I hope the above things would have given you some insight about the TOPIK test.
Below is the link to the vocabulary from topik.go.kr which covers up to intermediate level and there is no specific list for advance level. For advance level preparation we can read literature books, news papers, some TOPIK preparation books etc.

TOPIK Vocabulary

All the best for TOPIK.
-Naveen
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