E-9 visa: format, pass mark and how it differs from TOPIK
EPS-TOPIK is the Korean language test for people going to work in Korea on an E-9 visa under the Employment Permit System. It is run not by NIIED but by HRD Korea (한국산업인력공단), in Uzbekistan together with the Agency for External Labour Migration. It shares only its name with regular TOPIK: the certificates are not interchangeable.
Computer-based (CBT/UBT). Reading: 20 questions, 25 minutes, 50 points. Listening: 20 questions, 25 minutes, 50 points. 40 multiple-choice questions in total, 50 minutes, 100 points. No writing or speaking. Questions cover the workplace, safety signs, daily life and Korean culture, and are drawn from the official textbook (한국어 표준교재) and question bank that HRD Korea publishes openly.
There is no single fixed pass mark — it is a ranking exam. Each sector has a floor (usually 60 out of 100 for manufacturing, 45 for agriculture, construction and others, 30 for certain fishing categories), and candidates above the floor are ranked by score and registered within that year's quota. So 60 points is not a guarantee — you need to beat the competition. A pass is valid for 2 years from the date results are announced.
The official textbook (한국어 표준교재, 60 lessons) and HRD Korea's open question bank are 90% of the preparation. Regular TOPIK I material helps too (vocabulary and listening are at the same level), but workplace safety signs, tool names and manufacturing vocabulary exist only in the EPS textbook. Because there is no writing or speaking, 2–3 months of intensive study can be enough even from zero. Practise listening at real speed — the audio is played once.