TOPIK 3 · Lower Intermediate

This site lists 1,972 words graded to 3급. Counting every level up to and including it, that is 4,353 words in total — the cumulative figure is the one that matters, because 3급 assumes everything below it.

Live day to day in Korean without much difficulty, use public services and hold social relationships.

TOPIK II. Two sittings totalling 180 minutes, covering listening, writing and reading, scored out of 300. It is the only test with a writing section.

At twenty new words a day, this level's 1,972 words take about 15 weeks on their own. Reaching it from zero means the 4,353 cumulative words, which is closer to 8 months at the same pace.