TOPIK: your questions answered

Answers built on measured figures from official score tables — how many points you need, and what you can safely skip.

TOPIK Required Score by Level — How many points, how many questions right

TOPIK doesn't have a separate exam for each level — you take one exam, and your total score decides your level. So working backward from your target level shows you what you're allowed to give up.

TOPIK Minimum-Pass Strategy — What to give up, what to hold onto

The strategy comes from two facts: there's no minimum pass mark per section, and every listening and reading question is worth an even 2 points. Giving up on the hard questions becomes the rational choice.

TOPIK Time Management — Reading runs short, listening slips away

70 minutes for 50 reading questions works out to 84 seconds each. But passages get longer toward the end, so solving them at an even pace always runs short.

TOPIK II Listening — What to Listen For, Type by Type

In listening, the audio plays once and can't be replayed. So the strategy isn't 'understand everything' — it's 'decide in advance what to wait for.' Each of the 20 question types has a different signal to catch.

TOPIK II Reading — Why You Run Out of Time, and How to Handle Each Type

70 minutes for 50 reading questions works out to 84 seconds each. But passages get longer toward the end, so unless you save time in the early questions, you will run short. The key is reading each question type differently.

TOPIK Writing Q51–54 — What and how to write

Writing is worth 100 points, but Q51 and 52 only ask you to write one sentence each. This is the highest-return section in the entire exam for the study time you put in.

Korean Grammar — Where Learners Get Stuck Most Often

The questions gathered here are the ones Korean learners actually ask most often. They make more sense when you approach them by asking 'in what situation is this used' rather than by memorizing rules.

Vocabulary — How Many Words, and How to Memorize Them

It's true that your score rises with the number of words you know, but the method you memorize them with makes a huge difference to the result, even for the same amount of study time.

Study Plan — How Long, and in What Order

How much time you need varies a lot from person to person. What can be said with confidence is 'which order gives the highest return.'

Everyday Korean — The Exam and Real Conversation Are Different

Even with a high TOPIK score, getting stuck ordering at a restaurant is common. That's because exam Korean and everyday Korean use different expressions.

TOPIK Exam Information — Where to Check Dates, Registration, and Fees

Schedules and fees differ by administration and by country, and change year to year. So this page doesn't list numbers — it points you to the official source instead. Trusting a number written here and having it turn out wrong is the biggest risk.