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Topik exam schedules announced for 2026

Published: 09 Oct. 2025, 17:10

LEE TAE-HEE
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International students practice writing Korean at Dongseo University's Institute of Foreign Language Education on April 22. [YONHAP]

The Ministry of Education announced Topik exam schedules for 2026 on Thursday, with more countries administering internet-based tests (IBTs) due to the rising popularity of Korean.

There will be six Topik paper-based test (PBT) exams held in 2026, with the first — the 104th Topik PBT exam set for Jan. 11 — to be only administered in Korea. The remaining five Topik PBT exams will be administered in Korea and overseas.

There will be six Topik IBT exams next year, with the 11th Topik IBT exam, set for Feb. 28, to be only administered in Korea. The remaining five Topik IBTs will be administered in both Korea and abroad.

There will be three Topik speaking exams, which will only be administered in Korea.

Thirteen countries administered the Topik IBT this year, including the United States, China and Indonesia, but four countries — Nepal, Laos, Bahrain and India — will be newly added to the list starting in 2026.

As the popularity of learning Korean rises, more people have been taking the Topik.

There were 490,000 people who took the exam in 2024, up 16.7 percent on year. For this year, there were 550,000 people who applied for the test as of September.

"As Korean language gains greater recognition, it is becoming more and more important to administer and manage the Topik exam," said Park Sung-min, deputy minister for planning and coordination at the Ministry of Education. "We will make every effort to ensure that the 2026 Topik is smoothly operated as a globally recognized foreign language proficiency test."