등급TOPIK Scoring and Cut-Off Scores
TOPIK has no pass mark. Each section is marked out of 100, the totals are added, and the number you end with decides which grade you are awarded — with no minimum in any individual section.
Every cut-off on both papers is below, from 80 for 1급 to 230 for 6급.
- 등급Grades in total
- 6
- 최저 기준Lowest cut-off
- 80 / 200
- 최고 기준Highest cut-off
- 230 / 300
- 과락Section minimums
- None
채점 방식How a score becomes a grade
Three rules, and the third one is the one nobody believes.
Sections are added, not weighted
Each section is marked out of 100 and the totals are summed. TOPIK I comes to 200, TOPIK II to 300.
The total alone decides
There is no minimum in any single section. A weak writing score is survivable if the listening and reading carry it, and that happens constantly.
The first grade is the cheap one
3급 asks for 40% of TOPIK II, and 1급 for 40% of TOPIK I. Every step after that costs another 30 to 40 points.
TOPIK ITOPIK I — every cut-off
200 points across 듣기 100 + 읽기 100.
TOPIK IITOPIK II — every cut-off
300 points across 듣기 100 + 쓰기 100 + 읽기 100.
| Grade | Score needed | Of 300 | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| TOPIK 3 | 120 | 40% | Lower Intermediate — Live day to day in Korean without much difficulty, use public services and hold social relationships. |
| TOPIK 4 | 150 | 50% | Upper Intermediate — Follow the news and straightforward newspaper articles, and handle general social and abstract topics. |
| TOPIK 5 | 190 | 63% | Advanced — Carry out research or professional work in your field and use formal and written registers correctly. |
| TOPIK 6 | 230 | 77% | Mastery — Perform research and professional duties accurately and fluently, close to a native speaker. |
구간The distance between grades
Where the points get expensive.
The steps are 30, 40, 40 points. Getting the first grade is a different problem from moving up one, and the last 40-point step is the one that takes a year.
쓰기 채점Writing is marked differently
The only human-marked section on either paper.
Listening and reading are machine-marked against a key. The 100 points of writing are marked by people against published criteria — whether the task was completed and the content is on point, how the writing is organised, and how accurate and varied the language is.
That is worth knowing for one practical reason: partial credit exists there and nowhere else. An essay that is half the required length still scores something, and a blank one scores nothing at all.
이어서Where to go next
자주 묻는 질문Common questions
How is TOPIK scored?
Every section is marked out of 100, the section scores are added, and the total decides which grade you are awarded. There is no pass mark and no minimum per section — a total of 120 on TOPIK II is a 3급 however it was assembled.
What score do I need for TOPIK level 4?
150 of 300 on TOPIK II — 50% of the paper. TOPIK I cannot award it: its ceiling is 2급.
Is there negative marking on TOPIK?
No. Nothing is deducted for a wrong answer anywhere on the exam, which makes leaving an item blank strictly worse than guessing. Fill in every bubble before the section ends, including the ones you never read.
What happens if I score below the lowest cut-off?
No grade is awarded — the certificate says 불합격. On TOPIK I that means under 80 of 200; on TOPIK II, under 120 of 300. It is the one real risk of sitting the harder paper.
Check before you rely on this. The shape of the exam — sections, item counts, timing and the score each 급 is awarded at — is hand-entered from TOPIK's published 시행 계획 and is the one part of this site with no machine-readable source behind it. It is reviewed once a year. Confirm the current figures at topik.go.kr before you register, and treat the exam calendar as theirs alone — it is not published here, because a stale date is worse than no date.