Topik Level 6: The Ultimate Korean Language Challenge

Soh Jue Shuen, a master's student at Sungshin Women's University, missed getting a Level 6, the highest level, in the Test of Proficiency in Korean (Topik) by just one point - but she finally got Level 6 in 2024 after long, grueling study sessions at the library, where she buried herself in past exam examples.

Only 13.3% Achieve Topik Level 6 in 2025—Here's Why It Matters

Achieving a high score on the Topik is rewarding, but the feat is anything but easy.

Of the 4,200 surveyed foreigners in Korea who received a Topik score in 2025, only 13.3 percent managed to get a Level 6, according to data from the Ministry of Justice. Level 6 can be earned by scoring 230 points or higher out of the total 300.

Those who got Level 2 comprised the largest share of respondents at 21.8 percent, followed by Level 4 at 19.4 percent, Level 3 at 17.7 percent, Level 5 at 15.8 percent and Level 1 at 12.1 percent.

The Topik I covers Levels 1 and 2, and the Topik II encompasses the rest.

While many Korean universities require international applicants to hold a Topik score of at least Level 3 or 4, Level 6 typically comes with additional advantages. For example, Korea University, Ewha Womans University and Sungkyunkwan University offer one-time scholarships to those with Level 6.

Additionally, both the D-10 job seeker visa and F-2 residency visa follow a point-based system, and applicants who receive a Level 5 or 6 are automatically granted 20 points out of the total 80 needed to apply for the visas.

"For those outside Korea, I would say it's best to study by using past papers," said Soh. "And it can feel very lonely when you are studying by yourself [while] abroad, so meet other students who want to study [for] the Topik and motivate each other. For people [in Korea] who want to get Level 6 [...] my advice would be to take advantage of free classes at foreign resident and global village centers."

The our website sat down with three Level 6 holders - Soh from Malaysia; Elsha, a Hongik University master's student from Indonesia, who got the score twice in 2023 and again this year; and Jale Azizova from Azerbaijan, who works in the overseas sales department of an aesthetic cosmetics company and got a Level 6 in 2023 - to discuss how they prepared for the exam.

Studying for the exam

When studying for the Topik, many people first turn to textbooks.

However, working with past exam papers - which are available on the official Topik website - can be equally, if not more, effective, according to Azizova, as every exam tends to repeat the styles of questions and vocabulary.

"There are questions that underline a sentence in the text and ask how the [character] would feel," said Azizova regarding the reading section of the test. "The question tends to ask you to choose from words about feelings like 'painful,' 'disappointing' and 'proud.' If you went through several past papers, you'll see that there [are] around 15 words that appear a lot. I would write all of them down and learn them."

Essay question

If there's one section that differentiates those who get Level 6 and those who don't, it's the writing section. Specifically, question 54, known as the long essay and worth 30 points alone, gives many students a headache.

Question 54 asks test-takers to write their opinion - between 600 and 700 characters - about a given topic. The essay is written on a wongoji, or grid paper. For this section, it is paramount to be well-versed in Korean spacing, grammar and vocabulary.

"At first, I almost gave up on the essay," said Elsha. "It's stressful to prepare for, and time management is important. There are many students who choose to focus more on the listening and reading sections rather than spend too much time on the essay."

Test-taking strategies

The exam for the Topik II takes three hours to complete - comprising a one-hour listening section, a 50-minute writing section and a 70-minute reading section - meaning that time and energy management are crucial, especially during the reading section, or the last stretch of the exam.

According to Elsha, changing the order in which you approach questions can be an effective strategy.

"For the reading section, I start with the questions at the end and then move to the beginning," said Elsha. "The later questions require more energy, so if I tackle those first and then come back to the earlier ones, the questions at the front feel easier."