Can you prepare for EPS-TOPIK with TopikIQ?

Key facts

What is EPS-TOPIK?

EPS-TOPIK is the Korean language test of the Employment Permit System (EPS), run by the Human Resources Development Service of Korea under the Ministry of Employment and Labor. It ranks job seekers for E-9 work permits: 40 multiple-choice items, 20 reading and 20 listening, in 50 minutes, scored out of 100.

The reading section covers descriptions of objects and situations, vocabulary and grammar, practical materials such as safety signs and notices, and short texts such as job advertisements and machine instructions. The listening section covers sounds and spelling, pictures, dialogues and short talks. Workplace safety and job content appear in every area.

There is no level and no fixed pass mark. Since 2013 the questions have been written from the standard textbook and kept confidential, so there are no past papers to study from; the public question book only shows the item types, and the same questions do not appear in the test.

TOPIK and EPS-TOPIK are different tests run by different ministries. If you are not sure which one you need, read TOPIK vs EPS-TOPIK.

How is EPS-TOPIK scored, and what do 60 and 45 mean?

Each item is worth 2.5 points, 100 in total. A candidate must reach the floor for the chosen sector, 60 points for manufacturing and 45 for the other sectors, and is then ranked by score within the number of workers planned for that country and sector. Reaching a floor is not a guarantee of selection.

Because selection is relative, the same score can pass one year and fail the next. In Uzbekistan, 25,683 people sat the test in 2023 and 7,922 passed; in the 2026 round, 8,158 registered, 6,468 sat and 1,878 passed. The fishing special test uses its own rule (30 points, pass or fail), which TopikIQ does not model.

Some notices in Vietnam still quote a 200-point scale with a 120-point floor for manufacturing. The organizer's page states that 120 out of 200 equals 60 out of 100, so it is the same floor.

In TopikIQ, every EPS result and timed set reports an estimated score out of 100 and the distance to both floors, never a pass probability or a level.

How does TopikIQ's EPS mode work?

Choose EPS-TOPIK as your exam when you start the app, or later in your profile. The app then switches to the 100-point scale, shows the distance to the two sector floors instead of a TOPIK level, and serves only EPS items in practice and in the timed set.

Every item is original: written by us for the item types in the published test structure, in Korean at about TOPIK I level with workplace vocabulary, and checked before release. Listening items use audio recorded with our own text-to-speech voices (a narrator, a man and a woman), the same voices as our TOPIK listening practice.

• Reading, 4 types: descriptions of objects and situations; vocabulary and grammar; practical materials (signs, notices, pay slips, work schedules); short-text comprehension (safety rules, procedures, job advertisements)
• Listening, 4 types: picture descriptions (a narrator describes the scene); question and reply; dialogues; announcements and short talks
• Domains: workplace culture, job Korean (manufacturing, agriculture and livestock, construction, services), industrial safety and health, laws and systems (contracts, pay slips, insurance, registration), daily life and public offices

The app runs in 10 languages, including Uzbek, Russian, Vietnamese and English, and every EPS item has an explanation in all of them. The bank has 480 items, 240 reading and 240 listening, and more are coming. The vocabulary screen has a job vocabulary set of 300 workplace words. Workplace expressions are still being prepared, so the daily expression screen shows the TOPIK I set with a note.

What EPS mode does not do: there is no writing section (the test has none), no placement check, no level prediction and no preparation for the second-round skills test.

What is free, and what needs Pro?

Practice is free: 20 questions a day in sessions of 10, the same daily allowance as TOPIK practice. The 40-item, 50-minute timed set is a Pro feature; signed-in free users get one free try, which is the same single try that covers the TOPIK mock exam.

Prices and any introductory offer appear in the store purchase sheet before you confirm. There are 12 different sets, and each takes 20 reading and 20 listening items from the EPS bank only; TOPIK items are never mixed in.

How and when do you register for EPS-TOPIK?

You cannot register on your own. The sending agency of your country opens a registration window and announces the dates, in 2026 about four to eight weeks before the test.

In Uzbekistan the Migration Agency announced the 2026 round on 5 March, took online registrations on 9 to 12 March on xorijdaish.uz, held the test on 6 to 23 April and published the results on 26 May; the second-round skills test followed on 28 to 31 July.

In Vietnam the Center of Overseas Labour (COLAB) took 2026 registrations in person on 23 to 27 March for fisheries, forestry and services, with tests from 23 April to 15 May, and on 22 June to 21 August for manufacturing, with tests on 12 to 16 October. Registration cannot be done by proxy.

The fee is 28 US dollars or the local equivalent in most countries (24 in the Philippines). Follow your agency's own channel for dates (the Migration Agency posts on Telegram, COLAB on Zalo), and set your test date in TopikIQ so Home counts down to it.

Is TopikIQ connected to the test organizer?

No. TopikIQ is an unofficial study tool and is not affiliated with HRD Korea, NIIED or any sending agency.

None of the EPS items are real test questions, and none are copied from the public question book or the standard textbook; we write every item from the published item types and domains, record our own audio and write our own explanations. For registration, dates, fees and results, use your sending agency and the organizer's own pages, which are linked in the sources below.

Frequently asked questions