Retakes, age limits, IBT, results and more
Is there an age limit? — No. School pupils can take it.
How many times can I take it? — No limit; each round is a separate registration and fee.
Can I take TOPIK I and II on the same day? — Yes, they run at different times of day and you can register for both.
Can I skip TOPIK I and go straight to TOPIK II? — Yes, TOPIK I is not a prerequisite.
Is an IBT (computer) certificate the same as PBT (paper)? — Yes, both are official TOPIK with the same levels and the same validity.
What differs? — IBT results come out faster (usually about two weeks), there are more rounds, and Writing is typed (convenient if you dislike handwriting). It costs more and is not offered in every city.
Which to choose? — If handwriting is a struggle and you type Korean quickly, IBT. Otherwise PBT, since the study materials and past papers are in PBT format.
When are results out? — For PBT, roughly 4–5 weeks after the exam, on topik.go.kr.
How long is the certificate valid? — 2 years from the date results are announced. It must be valid at the time you submit university documents.
Is there a paper certificate? — Mostly no; the official score report is issued as a PDF from topik.go.kr and verified by QR code. Some Korean Education Centres abroad issue a paper copy.
Can I see section scores? — Yes, the report lists each section, the total and the level.
Where is it held? — Organised by the Korean Education Centre in Tashkent (tashkec.uz); test centres are in Tashkent and sometimes other regions, stated in each round's notice.
Does registration fill up quickly? — Yes, especially for TOPIK II, places often go within days. Register as soon as the notice appears.
How much does it cost? — It differs from the fee in Korea and is set in local currency; the exact amount is in each round's notice.
Are the dates the same as in Korea? — The exam day is usually the same, but registration windows differ — always check the local notice.
TOPIK runs several times a year, and the calendar differs by country — the number of sittings available in Korea is larger than the number offered at most overseas centres. There is no waiting period after a result: if the next sitting has seats, you can register for it.
Registration windows are short and popular centres fill within hours of opening. Diarise the opening date, not the exam date.
Two years from the date the result is announced. Sitting the exam long before you need it means sitting it twice, so work backwards from the deadline you are aiming at.
No. You register for one exam per sitting. Choose by taking one full past paper of each under real time and looking at the numbers, not by how you feel about your Korean.
Not in the main exam described here. TOPIK Speaking exists as a separate assessment with its own registration and its own result, and it is not part of the Level 1 to 6 certificate. If an application asks for a TOPIK level, it means this exam.
Nothing beyond the fee and the day. The result is recorded as unclassified, no certificate is issued, and there is no mark against you. You can register for the next sitting.
No. Level 4 is regularly reached by people who have never been to Korea, because the exam tests reading, listening and writing, and none of those require being in the country. What it does require is volume — a great deal of reading and listening, at speed, over time.
What living in Korea genuinely helps with is speaking, and the certificate does not test speaking at all.
The format has been stable for years, and the level bands have not moved. What has changed is the number of candidates: registration closing faster is the practical difficulty most people meet, not the paper itself.