Korean Job Discussion Forums

[tomato]

Does anyone know if the Korean Proficiency Test is still in operation,
and if so, when and where?

Also, does anyone know where to order study materials?
I tried KICE (fax 02-2299-6146) and HollyM (fax 02-3460-5528) but to no avail.

[kalkamagi]

yes, the kpt is held once a year- in late september. you have to register quite early, by july-ish i beleive.

the kyobo bookstore in gwanghwamoon sold practice materials, last time i checked (2 years ago).

what level are you going for?

[excitinghead]

Do you mean the Korean Language Proficiency Test (KLPT) or the Test Of Proficiency In Korean (TOPIK)? Both are organised by different Korean Language centers, stupidly competing with each other to make THEIR test the "official" one, even going so far as to have them on the same day. I've never taken the KLPT, but noticed that bookstores are full of study materials for it these days.

I've taken TOPIK many times though, and that's the one most Universities use for admitting international students. It's now 2x a year in March and September, and I have all the information you need (and a LOT you don't ) for that in these posts on my blog:

Edit: I took a second look at my posts on my blog, and most didn't give much useful information about the test itself...sorry for wasting people's time . Really, everything you need to know about TOPIK you can find in this previous thread:

http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?t=93031&highlight=

then click this, then click "English":

http://www.topik.or.kr/

But I do talk a lot about learning Korean on my blog if anyone's interested :

http://thegrandnarrative.wordpress.com/category/learning-korean/

[tomato]

[excitinghead]

I think I remember you live somewhere rural, right Tomato? If you're wanting TOPIK study books, then I really recommend going to a city sometime, because these days absolutely every bookstore that has English books will have some TOPIK books. If you don't feel like it then I can recommend some that you can order, but it's not quite like going and checking them out yourself.

What did you mean you got the ring around the roses with the English section of the TOPIK site? What exactly were you looking for? If you want practice tests, they're in the "Data Room" on the left in the blue sidebar.

[tomato]

[asylum seeker]

I passed the TOPIK 3급 in September and I'm going for 4급 next April. Its the same test- to get level 3 you have to average over 50% and level 4 is over 70%. Its a big step-up from the level 1-2 to the level 3-4 test. The vocab requirements get pretty big. I had a serious language exchange partner so I worked my way through 7 previous tests with her over about 4 months, it really helped a lot!
You should aim high and then you'll be motivated to study hard for the next four months.

[T-J]

Tomato did you take the TOPIK? And how did it go. I was planning on taking it this last September but business unfortunately got in the way. I'm panning on taking it this spring.

Any insight and or advice would be appreciated. I think you mentioned two vocabulary lists in order of word frequency put out by Yonsei in another thread. Where did you find that? It is exactly what I'm looking for.

[tomato]

[T-J]

Thanks for that Tomato.

Not even sure why I want to take the test as I really don't see any practical application for it. Or should I say I haven't found one yet. I guess it's for my own satisfaction.

I sympathize with your difficulties in listening. It has always been the most difficult for me out of the four disciplines. It was the reason I never progressed past level five at Yonsei back in '94.

Don't give up.

[PeteJB]

Interesting list, although it comes across as a bit complicated on first glance - Upon closer inspection, it's piss easy.