The 40th TOPIK

Today was the day of the 40th Test on Proficiency in Korean, which I took at the University of Washington. Two or three months ago, I took three previous exams at home—TOPIKs 35, 36, and 37—and scored well enough to be classified as a Level 2 Korean language user ("high beginner"). The test today was much harder than those previous tests, and not only because of the time limit, which wasn't an issue for the tests I took at home. I had to skip many questions because I just couldn't find a way into them, and then I ran out of time to go back and give them another try.

I don't see how it's possible I'll enter the ranks of the Level 2s. Not until TOPIK 42 (mid-October, 2015) at the earliest. (TOPIK 41 will be given only in Korea.) It is pretty disappointing to be judged only a "low beginner" after a year and a half of study. I think my Korean is more serviceable than this test suggests, partly because the listening portion of the TOPIK was really hard for me, as I knew it would be. (In the previous tests I took at home, there were many listening questions I could only really guess on. In today's test, a good half of the listening questions just left me sitting there with no clue.) In my civilian (non-test taking) life, when I'm using Korean with my teacher or with my Korean-speaking friends, I do much better than you'd expect from a "low beginner." Oh well.

A score of 80 is needed to rank as Level 1, 140 to rank as Level 2. In the tests I took on my own, I scored 150, 155, and 160. I'm guessing I got a score no higher than 100 on today's test. (Results are scheduled to be posted June 16.)

In my testing room, I was the oldest testee by far. The second-oldest test-taker could have been 25 years younger than me. Most of the testees were kids around 10–12. All but two test-takers were Korean or Korean-American, at least some of whom spoke Korean at home. So I was a real anomaly: a middle-aged guy not immersed in Korean. Maybe considering that, I did fine.

TOPIK 42 (and Level 2) or bust!

Message to self: Next time, wear a watch to keep track of time and pace yourself. And study more vocab in the weeks leading up to the test.