TOPIK Levels Explained: What Each Level Means and the Score You Need

TOPIK is the official Korean language test, and its full name in Korean is 한국어능력시험 (hangugeo neungnyeok siheom, Korean proficiency test). If you want to study or work in Korea, or you just want a clear goal for your studies, sooner or later you’ll run into its levels, because universities, employers and visa rules all ask for them. The trouble is that the numbers are confusing at first, since there are two tests but six levels, and people say “TOPIK 2” to mean both a test and a level.

In this post I’ll go through what the TOPIK levels are, how the two tests fit together, what score you need for each level, and what each level means in real life. After that I’ll take a closer look at level 3, because it’s the first level of TOPIK II, the harder test, and that jump is the one people ask about most. Last, I’ll go through how to study for the test, including where to find the grammar for each level.

What are the TOPIK levels?

TOPIK sorts your Korean into levels from 1 to 6, where 1 is a beginner and 6 is advanced, professional-level Korean, though the official description says it’s still short of a native speaker’s level. In Korean they’re written with the number and 급 (geup, level), so level 3 is 3급 (samgeup), and you’ll see it written that way on Korean websites and job ads.

You don’t sign up for a level, though. Instead, you take one of two tests, and the score you get decides your level. If your score is below the lowest level of that test, you don’t get a level at all.

How many TOPIK levels are there?

There are six levels, split across two tests:

So when someone says they have “TOPIK 2,” it’s worth checking what they mean. Most of the time people use “TOPIK 1” and “TOPIK 2” for the two tests, but some use them for levels 1 and 2. In this post I’ll write TOPIK I and TOPIK II for the tests, and level 1 to level 6 for the levels.

TOPIK I vs TOPIK II

The two tests differ in more than difficulty, because TOPIK II adds a writing section and has longer texts and recordings. This is how they’re laid out:

Neither test has a speaking section. There’s a separate TOPIK speaking test for that, which you sign up for on its own.

Picking between them is mostly about where you are now. If you’re still working through the basics, like introducing yourself and talking about your day, TOPIK I is the one for you. But if you’re already comfortable with that and you want level 3 or higher, you have to take TOPIK II, because TOPIK I can’t give you more than level 2.

What score do you need for each TOPIK level?

Your level comes from your total score across all the sections. These are the minimum scores on the paper test:

So for example, if you take TOPIK II and score 165, you get level 4, and if you score 110, you don’t get a level from that sitting.

Before you set a target, though, keep two things in mind. First, TOPIK can now also be taken on a computer, as the internet-based test (TOPIK IBT), and that version uses a different score scale, so the numbers above are only for the paper test. If you’re taking the IBT, check its cutoffs on the official TOPIK site. Second, your result is valid for two years after it’s announced, so if you need it for a university or a visa, time the test so it doesn’t expire before you apply.

If you’re looking for the TOPIK 2 level score in particular, it depends on which “2” you mean. Level 2 needs 140 out of 200 on TOPIK I, while the lowest pass on the TOPIK II test is 120 out of 300, which gets you level 3.

What each TOPIK level means

The scores tell you how to get a level, but they don’t tell you what you can do with it. Roughly, this is what each level stands for:

You’ll sometimes see these levels compared to the European CEFR scale (A1 to C2). One 2016 paper comparing TOPIK with the CEFR lines them up one to one, so level 1 is A1 and level 6 is C2. Keep in mind that this is one paper’s comparison, though, and not an official equivalence from the people who run the test.

What is the highest TOPIK level?

The highest level is 6, and to get it you need at least 230 out of 300 on TOPIK II. That means you can only lose about a quarter of the points across listening, writing and reading, including the essay. Level 6 is described as the level for research or professional work in Korean, so if that isn’t your plan, level 3 or 4 may be a more useful goal to aim for first.

Is TOPIK level 3 hard?

I’m looking at level 3 on its own because it’s where TOPIK changes the most. It’s the first level you can only get by taking TOPIK II, the test that adds a writing section, and it’s also the point where you can get through daily life in Korean. That’s why “is TOPIK level 3 hard” and “how to get TOPIK level 3” come up so often when people search. Whether it feels hard depends on what you’re comparing it to.

On paper, the bar is low. You need 120 out of 300, which is 40%, and your level comes from the total, so you don’t need a minimum score in each section. In other words, a strong listening and reading score can make up for a weak essay.

But the test itself is a big step up from TOPIK I. You’re sitting the same paper as people going for level 6, so a lot of the questions are written for higher levels than yours, and you also have to write in Korean for the first time. So the pass mark is the easy part. What makes level 3 hard is that the test is long and much of it is above your level, which is why it helps to know which questions to go for and which ones you can let go.

How to get TOPIK level 3

If you’re aiming for level 3, these are the things I’d focus on, in this order:

1. Get the grammar from levels 1 to 3 down first. The intermediate questions are built on it, so go through the level 1, level 2 and level 3 lists until most of the items look familiar. 2. Spend most of your practice on listening and reading. They’re worth 200 of the 300 points, and since your level comes from the total, a good score here does most of the work. 3. Learn what each writing task asks for. The first ones only ask you to fill in short sentences, and those points are easier to pick up than the essay at the end, so don’t leave them blank. 4. Do past papers against the clock. The official TOPIK site posts past tests, and timing yourself shows you which parts to rush and which to slow down on.

How to study for TOPIK

Whatever level you’re going for, it helps to know where the test’s grammar actually comes from. TOPIK’s official site doesn’t publish a grammar list, but the National Institute of Korean Language, the government body in charge of the Korean language, has an official curriculum for teaching Korean to foreigners. It’s called the International Standard Curriculum of Korean (국제 통용 한국어 표준 교육과정, gukje tongyong hangugeo pyojun gyoyuk gwajeong), and it sorts grammar and vocabulary into six levels, matching TOPIK’s six-level scale.

That’s the curriculum I use on this site. Every lesson shows its level, and I’ve grouped them into lists for each test and each level, so you can start from the level you’re aiming for:

• TOPIK I grammar, for levels 1 and 2
• TOPIK II grammar, for levels 3 to 6
• Grammar by level: level 1, level 2, level 3 and level 4
• The TOPIK hub, with all the levels in one table

Apart from the grammar, the best way to study is the same as for Korean in general: listen a lot, read a lot, and once you’re close to the test, switch to past papers so the format doesn’t surprise you on the day.

TOPIK 1 grammar: where to start

If you’re starting from zero, the TOPIK I grammar is a good place to begin, because it’s the grammar you need for basic sentences anyway. The first things to learn are the particles that show up in almost every sentence:

These are 은/는 (eun/neun), 이/가 (i/ga) and 을/를 (eul/reul). Each one has two forms, and you pick the form by whether the noun ends in a vowel or a consonant, which is why you see 는, 가 and 를 after the vowel endings above. After those, move on to 에/에서 (e/eseo) for places and times, then a few grammar patterns you’ll use every day, like 고 싶다 (go sipda, to want to) and 아/어서 (a/eoseo, so, and then).

Then, when you move on to level 2, you’ll meet patterns like 을 때 (eul ttae, when) and 것 같다 (geot gatda, it seems), and by level 3 you’ll be using things like 도록 (dorok, so that) and 에 대해서 (e daehaeseo, about).

That’s exactly why I made a TOPIK section on this site. I wanted a space for people who want to learn the key grammar points and particles for each level in an organized way, without piecing them together from different books and lists. You pick the test you’re taking or the level you’re aiming for, and you get the particles and grammar patterns for it, each with its own lesson, examples and practice. It isn’t finished yet, because I keep adding new lessons as I work through the official curriculum level by level, so it grows every time you come back. If you’re starting out, the TOPIK I grammar list is the place to begin, and when you’re ready for more, the TOPIK II list picks up from there.

To sum up, TOPIK has six levels across two tests: TOPIK I gives you level 1 or 2, TOPIK II gives you level 3 to 6, and your total score decides which one you get. Once you know the level you want, you know which test to take, what score to aim for, and which grammar to study.

Which TOPIK level are you aiming for, and what’s the part of the test you’re most worried about?

Sources

• TOPIK exam structure, pass marks and level descriptions (official TOPIK site, archived copy)
• TOPIK test guide: validity, speaking test and IBT (official TOPIK site)
• TOPIK test times (official TOPIK site)
• TOPIK IBT leaflet, 2025 (National Institute for International Education)
• Common European Framework of Reference for Language (CEFR) and Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK) (Won, 2016)
• The International Standard Curriculum for Korean (새국어생활 (saegugeo saenghwal), the institute’s journal, 2018)