TOPIK 5 5급에 합격했어!

I was kept busy before the release of TOPIK #29 results at 3pm (Korean time) today because I was stuck in the dental clinic in the morning having the nerve of my decayed molar removed (endodontic treatment) and root-filling.

Singapore’s 3G speed is sooooo slow and when the results page finally loaded on my phone,  I gave a loud squeal. I can’t believe that…

I passed TOPIK 5 in 4 months when I was just a 3급 back in September! 

From my past mock TOPIK exams:

And from Jan’s mock exam: 45   66   40   30

Surprisingly, listening was my best component! I was most confident for my writing and least confident for my listening but my results proved otherwise.

I’ve always thought that I need at least 50% in all sections and my final average score to get level 5 but I was wrong. To achieve the lower level, you need to score at least 40% in any section and an overall average score of at least 50%. To achieve the higher level, you need at least 50% in any section and an overall average score of at least 70%.

Frankly speaking, I know I’m not of TOPIK 5 standard yet, and I have so much more to learn. I guess I was just lucky and exam-smart. I have to study much harder during my remaining Korean language course and learn as much as I can. At least I won’t be so stressed about having to obtain Level 5 because I've already got it and my scholarship board will give me an additional 100,000원/month once I start my Masters :) I think I’ll still take the TOPIK exam in July to obtain 6급 to up my chances of getting an internship placement in Samsung.