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.
120 out of a possible 300 on TOPIK II. That's 40% of the full score — you can miss more than half the questions and still get Level 3.
Levels 3 through 6 are all decided by the single TOPIK II exam; beginner levels (1–2) come from a separate exam called TOPIK I.
| Exam | Level | Required score | % of full score |
|---|---|---|---|
| TOPIK I | Level 1 | 80 points | 40% |
| TOPIK I | Level 2 | 140 points | 70% |
| TOPIK II | Level 3 | 120 points | 40% |
| TOPIK II | Level 4 | 150 points | 50% |
| TOPIK II | Level 5 | 190 points | 63% |
| TOPIK II | Level 6 | 230 points | 77% |
There's no minimum pass mark per section. Clear the total score and you get the level.
This fact is the starting point of the minimum-pass strategy. Even if one section is weak, you can make up for it in another, and giving up on a hard section entirely becomes a viable choice.
Get 18 of the first 20 listening questions and 20 of the first 24 reading questions, then guess the rest, and you land on 130 points — 10 points above the cutoff.
The required accuracy is 40% for each of listening and reading. You can give up the entire second half and still get Level 3.
| Section | Target to lock in | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Listening | 18 of Q1–20 + guess 7 from the rest | 50 points |
| Reading | 20 of Q1–24 + guess 5 from the rest | 50 points |
| Writing | Q51·52 partial 12 + Q53 template 10 + Q54 length 8 | 30 points |
| Total | 130 points |
The early sections were chosen for difficulty — Listening Q1–20 is low-to-mid difficulty, and Reading Q1–24 is low-to-mid-upper.
You should always guess. Since it's four-choice, the expected value is 25%.
If you guess on all 50 listening-and-reading questions you couldn't even attempt, the expected score is 25 points — a fifth of the Level 3 cutoff comes from guessing alone. A blank on the answer sheet is a loss in itself.
Listening and reading are an even 2 points across every question (confirmed for the 60th administration). Q1 and Q50 are worth exactly the same.
So there's no reason to get stuck on hard questions. Getting every easy question right is always the better play. Only writing has tiered scoring — 10 points each for Q51 and 52, 30 for Q53, 50 for Q54.
TOPIK I is different — its listening section mixes ten 4-point questions with twenty 3-point questions, so the early 4-point questions carry more weight.