TOPIK II Study Plan: A 30-Day Roadmap to Pass with Confidence

This plan is Stage 3–4 of the Korean TokTok curriculum — the structured free path from Hangul (Stage 1) to TOPIK 6급 (Stage 4). It assumes you have already cleared TOPIK I (Stage 2) and have ~300 hours of intermediate study under your belt. If you have not, work through Stage 2 grammar first. Use the TOPIK Score Calculator to estimate where you are right now.

A TOPIK II score — whether you are aiming for Level 3, 4, 5, or 6 — comes down to how you spend the last 30 days before the exam. The test rewards endurance, pattern recognition, and writing fluency more than raw vocabulary. This topik ii study plan is the week-by-week roadmap we wish every intermediate Korean learner had: specific daily targets, the four test sections mapped to a calendar, writing templates you can memorize, and a clear mock-exam strategy.

Before we walk through the 30 days, a quick calibration. TOPIK II covers Levels 3 through 6. It has three sections — 듣기 (Listening, 50 questions, 60 minutes), 읽기 (Reading, 50 questions, 70 minutes), and 쓰기 (Writing, 4 questions, 50 minutes). The Writing section is the one most candidates underestimate and the one most likely to cap your final level. The total is scored out of 300, and your level is determined by raw total score — not by section. That means weakness in any one section drags the whole number down.

Who this plan is for: intermediate learners aiming for Level 4 (140+), Level 5 (190+), or Level 6 (230+). If you are fresh off Level 2 and unsure you can handle Level 3 yet, spend a preparatory month on general intermediate study (see our grammar cheat sheet and beginner grammar roadmap) before starting this 30-day sprint.

How the 30 Days Are Structured

The arithmetic: roughly 80–90 hours over 30 days. If you cannot commit 2 hours a day, stretch this into a 60-day plan by doubling each week. Do not compress — TOPIK II cramming in under three weeks produces worse scores than a well-paced 30-day plan.

Week 1: Foundation (Days 1–7)

Daily targets

• Vocabulary: 70 new words/day, using a spaced-repetition app (Anki, Memrise, or Migaku). Source the Level 3–4 official TOPIK word lists.
• Listening: 15 minutes of passive listening to Korean news (KBS 뉴스, YTN) — subtitle-free, just for ear training.
• Reading: 1 short passage/day from a Level 3 textbook or TOPIK past paper.
• Writing: 1 short paragraph (5–7 sentences) on a simple topic. Hand-corrected or peer-reviewed.

Day 1: Diagnostic

Before you study anything, take a full TOPIK II past paper under exam conditions. This is non-negotiable. You need a baseline score per section so you can see where your 30 days should be weighted. The most recent past papers are published on the official 한국어능력시험 website after every exam cycle. Print them; do not take them on screen.

Days 2–7: Build the vocabulary spine

Every TOPIK reading passage is built out of the same 3,000 intermediate words. If you cannot read 85% of the words in any given passage on sight, no amount of grammar will save you. Week 1 is about closing that gap.

Resource recommendations:

• The official TOPIK 어휘 list (Levels 3–4 is the target for most candidates; Levels 5–6 if you are aiming for Level 5+).
• Our grammar cheat sheet for the vocabulary-adjacent endings that show up in every passage.
• The TOPIK posts feed for topic-tagged study posts.

Day 7: Review Day 1's diagnostic. Rank your three weakest passage types (e.g., "opinion essays," "news reports," "statistics description"). You will target these in Week 3.

Week 2: Grammar Intensive (Days 8–14)

Daily targets

• Grammar patterns: 4 new patterns/day with 10 example sentences each.
• Vocabulary: maintain 50 new words/day plus Anki review of Week 1.
• Listening: 20 minutes — now with 5 minutes of transcription practice (write down what you hear, verbatim).
• Writing: 1 paragraph using at least 3 of the week's new patterns.

The 30 core TOPIK II grammar patterns

You do not need to know every Korean grammar pattern to pass TOPIK II. You need to know the 30 that appear on every exam. These include:

• Connective endings: -는데, -면서, -아/어서, -(으)니까, -(으)면, -지만, -거든요
• Modal endings: -(으)ㄹ 수 있다/없다, -아/어야 하다, -(으)ㄹ 것 같다, -(으)ㄹ 텐데, -(으)ㄴ/는 줄 알다
• Intent and purpose: -(으)려고, -도록, -기 위해, -고자
• Comparison: -보다, -처럼, -만큼, -만 하다
• Quotatives: -다고/라고/자고/냐고 하다, 간접화법 forms
• Honorifics recap: -(으)시-, 께, 께서, 드리다, 여쭙다

Drill them with short passage reconstruction — read a sentence, rewrite it from memory, compare. This is 3x more efficient than flashcards for grammar.

Day 14: Mini-mock (Listening + Reading only)

Take a half-mock — one full Listening section (60 min) back-to-back with one full Reading section (70 min). Score yourself. You should see a clear improvement over Day 1.

Week 3: Reading + Listening Dominance (Days 15–21)

Week 3 is where scores start moving dramatically if you work the sections strategically.

Daily targets

• Reading: 1 full 50-question section every 2 days (alternating days), reviewed the next day.
• Listening: 1 full 50-question section every 2 days (alternating with Reading).
• Vocabulary: maintain 50 new/day and 100 review/day.
• Writing: 1 short essay (150–200 characters) using Week 2's patterns.

Section-specific strategy

Reading strategies:

1. Do not read every passage front-to-back on the real exam. Read the questions first, then scan the passage for the answer region. This cuts time in half.
2. The last 5–8 reading questions are long thematic essays. Save 20 minutes for those alone.
3. For "arrange the sentences in order" questions, identify the sentence with a pronoun or connective that cannot be first — that's the second sentence.

Listening strategies:

1. Take notes during the 2nd-half conversations. TOPIK II audio is played only once. If you drift for 10 seconds you lose a question.
2. The final 10 questions include academic lectures. These reuse the same 4–5 topic types (history, science, literature, social policy, economics). Study past lecture questions by topic, not by year.
3. Learn the speaker roles: these lectures always open with "오늘은 … 에 대해서 말씀드리겠습니다" ("today I will talk about …"). The speaker's thesis is in that opening line. Write it down.

Days 15–21: Specific daily rhythm

• Odd days (15, 17, 19, 21): Full Reading section → review mistakes → 30 min vocab → writing paragraph.
• Even days (16, 18, 20): Full Listening section → transcribe the hardest 2 passages → 30 min grammar pattern review.

Day 21: Half-mock again (Listening + Reading). Score should be 15–25 points above Day 14. If it is not, reduce new vocabulary load and triple-down on the pattern recognition of your weakest question type.

Week 4: Writing + Full Mock (Days 22–30)

This is the hardest and most important week. The Writing section (쓰기) is worth 100 points out of 300 — a third of your score — and it is where scores stratify. Most Level 5 candidates get there or fail on the writing alone.

The Writing section structure

Questions 51–52 are easy warmup points. Questions 53 (graph description) and 54 (opinion essay) are where the score lives.

Templates you can memorize

Question 53 (graph/table) — memorize this skeleton:

이 자료는 [주제]에 대한 [기관 이름]의 조사 결과이다. 그래프에 따르면, [첫 번째 데이터]. [연도]년에는 [숫자]였던 [항목]이 [연도]년에는 [숫자]로 [증가/감소]하였다. 이러한 변화의 원인은 첫째, [원인 1]이고 둘째, [원인 2]이다. 이를 통해 [결론]임을 알 수 있다.

This single template answers 90% of Q53 prompts. Memorize it so you can produce it without thinking on exam day.

Question 54 (opinion essay) — the 3-paragraph skeleton:

Paragraph 1 (introduction): 최근 [주제]에 대한 관심이 높아지고 있다. [주제]은/는 [배경 설명]. 이 글에서는 [주제]의 의미와 중요성, 그리고 [문제점/해결책]에 대해 논의하고자 한다.

Paragraph 2 (body): 우선, [주제]은/는 [정의 또는 중요성]. 이에 대한 구체적인 예로는 [예시]를 들 수 있다. 또한, [추가 논점]이라는 점도 간과할 수 없다.

Paragraph 3 (conclusion): 따라서 [주제]에 대한 [해결책/관점]이 필요하다. 이를 위해 [실천 방안]이/가 요구된다. 결국 [주제]은/는 우리 모두가 함께 고민해야 할 과제이다.

Most Q54 prompts map onto this skeleton with small tweaks. Practice filling it with five different topics during Week 4.

Common Q54 topic categories (and how to approach them)

TOPIK Q54 recycles five topic archetypes:

1. Social issues (환경, 저출산, 고령화, 청년 실업). Use statistics and proposed solutions.
2. Personal values (행복, 성공, 리더십). Use examples from your life and society.
3. Modern life (스마트폰, SNS, 인공지능). Discuss pros and cons.
4. Education (공교육, 대학 입시, 평생 교육). Use comparative thinking.
5. Culture (한류, 세대 차이, 전통). Describe the phenomenon and analyze causes.

Days 22–27: Writing practice rhythm

• Day 22: Q53 × 3 prompts (back-to-back, under 20 min each).
• Day 23: Q54 × 2 prompts, graded against the rubric.
• Day 24: Full writing mock (all 4 questions in 50 minutes).
• Day 25: Review Day 24 errors. Redo the weakest question.
• Day 26: Q54 × 1 prompt from each of the 5 topic archetypes (skim outlines, don't write full essays).
• Day 27: Rest or light review.

Days 28–29: Two full mocks

• Day 28: Full TOPIK II mock (Listening + Reading + Writing) under exam conditions. Time-box every section.
• Day 29: Review Day 28. Do not take a new mock — just grade, identify the 5 most costly errors, and plan corrections.

Why two full mocks? The first calibrates your endurance. TOPIK II runs 180 minutes back-to-back; without at least one full dress rehearsal, your Writing scores crater due to fatigue. Most candidates lose 10–15 Writing points on exam day purely from mental exhaustion.

Day 30: The checklist

The last day is for consolidation, not new material.

Day-30 checklist:

• Re-read your Q54 template until you can write it from memory.
• Review your 30 grammar patterns — one pass, 30 minutes.
• Listen to 1 lecture-style Listening passage to warm up your ear.
• Pack: ID, admission ticket, two 검정 볼펜 (black pens), 연필 (pencil) for marking, snacks for the break.
• Confirm your test center and arrival time. Budget for 30 min earlier than required.
• Sleep 8 hours. No cramming past 10 pm.

Mock Exam Strategy: When and How

A few candidates over-mock — doing 6+ full mocks in 30 days — and burn out. Others under-mock. The sweet spot:

• 1 full mock on Day 1 (diagnostic).
• 2 half-mocks (Listening + Reading) on Days 14 and 21.
• 1 full Writing-only mock on Day 24.
• 1 full 180-minute mock on Day 28.

Between mocks, work section-by-section. Mocks are for calibration and endurance; the actual point gains come from reviewing mistakes and drilling your weaknesses.

How to review a mock:

1. Mark every wrong answer.
2. For each mistake, label the root cause: vocabulary gap, grammar gap, misread the question, ran out of time, or careless error.
3. Sort your mistakes by category. Whichever category tops the list becomes your target for the next three days.

You will learn more from a well-reviewed mock than from three unreviewed ones.

Resources to Use (and Avoid)

Use:

• Official TOPIK past papers (the single most important resource).
• Koreantoktok.com TOPIK hub for topic-tagged posts and vocabulary drills.
• Posts archive filtered by TOPIK tags via the TOPIK search.
• Our quiz for grammar and vocabulary spaced-repetition practice.
• 세종학당 online practice sets (free, official tone).

Avoid:

• Random YouTube "pass TOPIK in a week" videos — they are marketing, not method.
• Vocabulary lists without context. If you are memorizing a word without a sentence, the word will not stick.
• Cramming writing templates without actually writing essays. The pattern is in the producing, not the reading.

FAQ

What level should I target for my first TOPIK II?

If you have been studying for 1–2 years and can hold a simple conversation, target Level 4 (140 total score) for your first attempt. Level 4 is the common entry requirement for Korean universities and the most common first-attempt level. Level 5 and 6 typically require 3+ years of sustained study. Overreaching on your first attempt leads to lower scores because you spread your 30 days too thin.

How much does each section weigh?

Each section is 100 points, for 300 total. Listening (100 pts), Reading (100 pts), Writing (100 pts). Your level is determined by total score only — there are no minimum section scores. That means a 90/70/10 and a 60/60/50 both total 170 (Level 4), even though the first candidate is essentially illiterate in writing.

Do I need to pass each section to get a level?

No. TOPIK II levels are based purely on your total score across all three sections. If you are weak in writing, a strong performance on Listening + Reading can still get you to Level 4 or 5 on totals alone. That said, the writing section has such a low ceiling for most candidates that improving it 20–30 points is often the most efficient path to the next level.

Can I skip the writing section if I hate it?

You can leave it blank and still receive a score — but you'll cap out at roughly Level 4 with a strong reading/listening performance, and Level 5+ becomes impossible. Even a basic effort on Q51 and Q52 will add 15–20 points and is worth 15 minutes of planning. Do not skip the writing section.

How often should I take a full mock in the 30 days?

Two to three full mocks total — Day 1, Day 28, and optionally a midpoint check around Day 18. More than that and you burn out; fewer than two and you never build exam endurance. The 3-hour sit is what kills most candidates on test day — it is essential to have practiced at least once under real conditions.

What happens if I don't have time for the full 30 days?

If you have 14 days, compress by dropping Week 1 (assuming you already have the vocabulary base) and combining Weeks 3 and 4 into a single sprint. If you have only 7 days, focus exclusively on Writing templates and the 30 core grammar patterns — writing gains are the fastest per hour of prep. Any less than 7 days and you are gambling. Postpone to the next cycle if you can. Use the extra time to strengthen your base with our grammar cheat sheet and beginner grammar post.

That is the full 30-day map. The candidates who hit their target level are not the ones with the most natural talent; they are the ones who committed to the rhythm, reviewed every mock properly, and memorized the writing templates so thoroughly they could recite them in their sleep. Pin this page, bookmark our TOPIK hub, and check in every week. Your future Level 4–6 self will thank you.