Start with the result your receiving organization requires, then confirm the format named in your local session notice. This guide keeps PBT and IBT separate because their structures and score scales are separate.
1. Who TOPIK II is for
Choose TOPIK II when the required result falls in its higher awarded range. It assesses Listening, Writing and Reading; the official total in the named format determines any awarded level.
Registering for TOPIK II does not promise a particular outcome. A university, employer, visa authority, or other receiving organization sets its own requirement and acceptance decision.
- Check that the required result belongs to the higher range.
- Confirm the receiving organization’s current format and deadline rules.
- Keep Listening, Writing and Reading in the study plan.
2. Keep PBT and IBT structures separate
The table obtains section counts, section time, totals, and maximum scores from the central fact registry. Read only the row for the format explicitly named in the local session notice.
Section time is examination time. Arrival, identity checks, instructions, breaks, and other local arrangements are set separately by the organizer.
Current IBT specification effective from: 22 February 2025
| Format | Sections | Section time | Totals | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PBT | Listening: 50Writing: 4Reading: 50 | Listening: 60Writing: 50Reading: 70 | 104 · 180 | 300 |
| IBT | Listening: 30Writing: 3Reading: 30 | Listening: 35Writing: 50Reading: 40 | 63 · 125 | 600 |
On a narrow screen, scroll the table horizontally.
The formats have separate official specifications. Different totals or maximum scores do not establish an official conversion, equivalence, or difficulty ranking.
Current TOPIK regulationOfficial NIIED TOPIK overviewNIIED current IBT notice
3. See the section flow for the confirmed format
The flow keeps Listening, Writing, Reading, timing, and totals together for planning. It is not evidence that either format is offered at a particular location.
Use the organizer’s current notice to establish availability; general information about both formats does not guarantee a local offering.
- Listening50 items · 60 minutes
- Writing4 items · 50 minutesPBT Writing guide: The numbered Writing guide belongs to PBT only.
- Reading50 items · 70 minutes
- maximum300
- Listening30 items · 35 minutes
- Writing3 items · 50 minutes
- Reading30 items · 40 minutes
- maximum600
4. Do not carry PBT Writing rules into IBT
IBT also has a Writing section, but its current format is distinct. The reviewed open primary material does not establish a complete current taxonomy or full scoring rubric for every IBT Writing task; that unresolved evidence gap is not a reason to import PBT rules.
For the confirmed PBT route, use the separate Writing guide. For IBT, follow current official instructions and the local organizer’s information rather than an assumed correspondence.
5. Prepare the three assessed skills
Use practice evidence to distinguish a comprehension problem from a pacing problem. Vocabulary and grammar support all three skills, but this page does not treat them as separately scored sections.
A useful plan alternates focused repair with a full attempt in the confirmed format.
Listening
Notice missed details, relationships, and the point at which audio becomes hard to follow.
Writing
Practise a response process appropriate to the confirmed format and review task fulfilment and clarity.
Reading
Track comprehension, sentence links, and the pace needed to finish the material.
A practical study loop
- Take a complete diagnostic in the confirmed format.
- Mark guesses, unfinished work, and incorrect answers by skill.
- Choose one recurring limiting skill for focused practice.
- Return to a complete attempt under comparable conditions.
6. Read score bands within the named format
The table uses official total-score bands from the central registry. Identify TOPIK II and the named format on the result before reading any row.
Awarded levels use the published total score for that format.
| Format | Maximum | Level | Total-score band |
|---|---|---|---|
| PBT | 300 | 3 | 120–149 |
| PBT | 300 | 4 | 150–189 |
| PBT | 300 | 5 | 190–229 |
| PBT | 300 | 6 | 230–300 |
| IBT | 600 | 3 | 191–290 |
| IBT | 600 | 4 | 291–360 |
| IBT | 600 | 5 | 361–430 |
| IBT | 600 | 6 | 431–600 |
On a narrow screen, scroll the table horizontally.
These are format-specific official score boundaries. They do not guarantee admission, employment, visa status, or acceptance by another organization.
7. Study from evidence, then retest
Begin with a complete practice attempt for the confirmed format. Sort unfinished, guessed, and incorrect work into Listening, Writing, and Reading before deciding what to practise next.
Treat this as an editorial study method rather than an official task rule or prediction of an exam result.
- Match the practice set to the confirmed format.
- Record the skill and cause of each recurring problem.
- Practise one limiting skill with feedback.
- Retest with a full comparable attempt.
For your first practice attempt, you can start TOPIK II practice in TopikLab with an individual task or an available full test, while practicing Writing tasks separately.
8. Confirm the local session before registering
The official specifications describe formats, not which format will be offered in every country or city. The local organizer’s current notice is the availability check.
Trace the notice from country to session, then to TOPIK II and its stated format before choosing a timer, score table, or Writing material.
- Confirm the country named by the organizer.
- Confirm the specific session.
- Confirm that the notice names TOPIK II.
- Confirm whether it names paper-based or computer-based testing.
9. Final preparation check
Keep the goal, local notice, format, structure, timer, and score scale aligned. Practice evidence can guide a next step but cannot certify a level or replace organizer instructions.
Before the exam, reopen the current organizer notice for registration status, location, arrival guidance, documents, and any new message.
- The required result is in the TOPIK II range.
- The local notice confirms the session and format.
- The timer and score table match that format.
- PBT Writing guidance is used only for a PBT target.
- Organizer instructions have been checked again.
10. Frequently asked questions
Which levels can TOPIK II award?
TOPIK II awards the levels in its higher range. The official table on this page supplies the published total-score bands for paper-based and computer-based formats; use only the row that matches the format named on the result.
Does TOPIK II include Writing?
Yes. Both formats include Writing, but their structures are distinct. The guide for the PBT sequence from question fifty-one through question fifty-four, including its task guidance and rubrics, must not be applied to IBT.
How do I know which format to prepare for?
Use the current organizer notice for your country and session. It must identify TOPIK II and the offered format before you choose a structure, timer, score table, or Writing material; general format availability does not promise a local offering.