TOPIK, or Test of Proficiency in Korean is a Korean language test offered four t imes annually (in Jan, Apr, Jul,

Oct) to foreigners in Korea and twice annually (Apr, Oct) to people studying Korean in other countries. TOPIK is administered b y the National Institute for International Education - NIIED. (Hangul: ???????.) Contents [hide] 1 History 2 Format 3 Testing locations 4 2013 TOPIK Test dates and countries 5 See also 6 References 7 External links History[edit] The test was first administered in 1997 and taken by 2274 people. Initially the test was held only once a year.[1] In 2009, 180,000 people took the test.[2] The Korean government introduced a law in 2007 that required Chinese workers of Kor ean descent who have no relatives in Korea to take the test so they could be ent ered in a lottery for visas.[3][4] In 2012, more than 150,000 candidates took the TOPIK, and the total number of pe ople who have taken the test since its date of inception surpassed 1 million.[5] Year Number of candidates Ref 1997 2,692 [5] 2006 34,028 [5] 2012 151,166 [5] Format[edit] The test is divided into four parts: vocabulary & grammar, writing, listening, a nd reading. There is currently no oral section. Two versions of the test are off ered: standard (S)-TOPIK and the business (B)-TOPIK. There are three different l evels of S-TOPIK: beginner (??), intermediate (??), and advanced (??). Depending on the average score and minimum marks in each section it is possible to obtain grades 1-2 in beginner, 3-4 in intermediate and 5-6 in advanced S-TOPIK. In B-T OPIK the scores in each section (out of 100) are added together to give a score out of 400.[6] Testing locations[edit] In addition to Korea, TOPIK is available in the following countries: Bulgaria, J apan, Taiwan, China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Bangladesh, India , Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Aze rbaijan, USA, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Paraguay, Argentina, Germany, Unit ed Kingdom, Spain, Italy, France, Turkey, Hungary, Czech Republic, Egypt, Belaru s, Russia, Brazil and Cambodia.[7] [8] [9] Examination times are divided into th ree time zones: China and marginal states (China including Hong Kong, Mongolia, Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore and Brunei; which shares the same timezone of GMT +8h), Korea and Japan (which shares the same timezone of GMT+9h), and other coun tries (which follows local time of a specific country). 2013 TOPIK Test dates and countries[edit] Bout Test date Countries 29th January 20, 2013 South Korea 30th April 20, 2013 United States, Germany, Canada, United Kingdom, Paraguay , France, Turkey, Czech Republic, Egypt, Italy, Spain, Bulgaria, Dominican Republic, Mexico, United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Chile, Venezuela, Ecuador, South Africa April 21, 2013 South Korea, Japan, China (including Hong Kong), United States ( Guam and Saipan), Kazakhstan, Sri Lanka, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Russia, Vietnam, Philippines, Singapore, Bangladesh,

Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Turkmenistan, New Zealand 31st July 21, 2013 South Korea 32nd October 19, 2013 United States, Brazil, Canada, United Kingdom, P araguay, Argentina, Italy, Armenia, Spain, Colombia, Ukraine, Hungary, Mexico, Portugal, United Arab Emirates, Kenya, Chile, Venezuela, Greece, Cameroon, Peru, Costa Rica October 20, 2013 South Korea, Japan, China (including Hong Kong), Kazakhs tan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Russia, Australia, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, Burma, India, Indonesia, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Laos, Pakistan, Cambodia, Iran, Brunei, New Zealand See also[edit] Korean Language Proficiency Test [hide] v t e Language tests English IELTS TOEFL TOEIC University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations Trinity College Lond on ESOL STEP Eiken Korean TOPIK Korean Language Proficiency Test Chinese Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi (HSK) Test of Chinese as a Foreign Language Putonghua Shui ping Ceshi Dutch Certificaat Nederlands als Vreemde Taal (CNaVT) Staatsexamen Nederlands als twee de taal (NT2) French Test d'valuation du franais Test de franais international Test de connaissance du f ranais Diplme d'tudes en langue franaise (DELF) Diplme approfondi de langue franaise ( DALF) German Deutsches Sprachdiplom Stufe I and II Test Deutsch als Fremdsprache (TestDaf) Italian CELI CILS PLIDA Spanish Diplomas de Espaol como Lengua Extranjera (DELE) Certificado de Espaol : Lengua y Uso|Certificado de Espaol : Lengua y Uso (CELU) Portuguese Certificado de Proficincia em Lngua Portuguesa para Estrangeiros (CELPE-Bras) Cent ro de Avaliao de Portugus Lngua Estrangeira (CAPLE) Russian Test of Russian as a Foreign Language (TORFL) Multilingual The European Language Certificates (TELC) References[edit] Jump up ^ "Applications for Int'l Korean-Language Test Double". The Chosun Ilbo. 17 September 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2009. Jump up ^ Kim Hong-jin (11 September 2009). "The Growing Popularity of the Korea n Language". The Chosun Ilbo. Retrieved 3 December 2009. Jump up ^ Bae Ji-sook (12 April 2009). "Korean Proficiency Test Getting More Pop ularity". Korea Times. Retrieved 3 December 2009. Jump up ^ "Test Standard Set for Korean-Chinese Workers". Korea Times. 22 April 2007. Retrieved 3 December 2009.

^ Jump up to: a b c d "Korean language test-takers pass 1 mil.". The Korea Times . Retrieved 25 January 2013. Jump up ^ "Examination Guide". KICE. Retrieved 3 December 2009. Jump