Increasing 30% Applicant 'TOPIK (Test of preficiency in Korea, 한국어능력시험)

The KICE (Korea Institute of Curriculum & Evaluation) expect that the applicants of 'TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean)’ increase more 30 percent than last year, because after at the beginning, the rate of applicants have continuously increased every year. It is reasons that the first, overseas expansions of business and Korean Wave have led to raise Korea’s status, and second, when we draw foreigner to Korea, they reinforced the examination of ability of using Korean language, and so on. Thursday, September 10, 2009

The Financial News reports the KICE (Korea Institute of Curriculum & Evaluation, 한국교육과정평가원) that manage TOPIK expect that the applicants of ‘TOPIK (Test of Proficiency in Korean)’ increase more 30 percent than last year.

Today, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST, 교육과학기술부) published that the sixteenth TOPIK will be conducted on September 12-13, 2009. It is for 93,173 people in 97 parts of 20 nations including the inside and outside of the country.

TOPIK is for non-native speakers of Korean, overseas Koreans and overseas residential Koreans who want to measure and evaluate the ability to use of Korean performance. Since the first test was conducted on 1997, a number of the test times was extended from one to two times every year and this year, for the first time, TOPIK is going to be conducted in Belarus where is located between Poland in Eastern Europe and Russia.

The test is divided into two parts. One is Standard Test (S-TOPIK) that measures necessary ability of using Korean language to understand Korean culture and study in Korea and so on. The other is for Business called Business TOPIK or B-TOPIK; it is to evaluate necessary ability of communication for daily life and employment.

S-TOPIK is conducted three types of tests such as beginner, intermediate and advanced, and evaluated 1 to 6 grades. Evaluating parts are vocabulary, grammar, writing, listening and reading. A score of each part is 100 points; therefore 400 points are full marks.

This year, the MEST presume applicant will rise about 30 percent that it means those who are 190,000 people increased than 142,816 last year.

The MEST said that these increasing reasons are various. First, overseas expansions of business and Korean Wave have led to raise Korea’s status, and second, when we draw foreigner to Korea, they reinforced the examination of ability of using Korean language. Also, to support overseas elementary and middle school that can select Korean language as second or foreign language and to develop and spread specific Korean text books caused to pull up the rate of TOPIK’s applicant.

TOPIK’s applicants have continuously been increasing year by year, such as 30,270 in 2006, 72,292 in 2007, and 142,816 in 2008.

Lee Eun-woo, a member of the MEST and the chief of KOICA (Korea International Cooperation Agency, 한국국제협력단), said, “Continuous increase of TOPIK’s applicants contributes to extend to draw superior foreign students to Korea and to encourage overseas local people who want to learn Korean language to become heated.

- Reference of a News video -
http://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LPOD&mid=tvh&oid=001&aid=0002615907
A news movie about TOPIK was conducted in Egypt at the first time.

- Other exam sites related of Korean language -

http://www.topik.or.kr/ KICE, the host of TOPIK
http://www.klt.or.kr/ KBS, the host of evaluating exam of using Korean language
http://exam.ybmsisa.com/kpe/ YBM Sisa.com, the host of evaluating exam of using Korean language