KoreaTOPIKCenter

Methodology

How our content is built

Everything on this site comes from one structured model of Korean — an ontology — rather than hand-maintained lists.

1. A single map of Korean grammar and vocabulary

Each grammar point (particle, ending or expression) and each word is a node with a permanent ID, its TOPIK level, and the evidence for that level. Levels follow the international standard curriculum for Korean, cross-checked against the national learner’s dictionary.

2. Relations between grammar points

Nodes are linked: built from (a compound expression and its parts), learn first (prerequisites derived from those parts), similar and opposite forms, short forms and honorific pairs. That is what powers the learning path on every grammar page, and it is how the level check traces a mistake back to its root cause.

Beyond the curriculum list, we include expressions that appear repeatedly on past TOPIK papers (marked “past-paper”). Their level comes from where they appear on the exam, and each one is linked to the core grammar it is built from.

3. Real usage statistics

Word order in vocabulary lists comes from frequency counts over large Korean corpora. We publish only aggregate statistics — never the corpus sentences themselves.

4. Questions written to the exam blueprint

Practice and mock questions follow the structure of recent TOPIK papers: the same question types, order and point values. Each question is checked automatically — its vocabulary and grammar must fall within its level, and every wrong option must be wrong for a stated reason — then reviewed before publishing.

Sources and licences