Illustrative manufacturing workplace · Photo: Nenad Stojković / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
Last verified: September 22, 2026 · HRD Korea EPS-TOPIK test rules, schedules and current standard materials checked.
The first EPS-TOPIK page to open is not a mock test.
It is the current schedule for your sending country.
Registration periods, test dates and recruitment stages do not move on one worldwide calendar. A date posted for Laos, Vietnam or the Philippines is not automatically your date.
Your country's current EPS notice → eligibility → registration → official EPS-TOPIK materials → test → selection result → next EPS employment step
Open your country notice before buying another study course
EPS recruitment is country-specific.
HRD Korea's current schedule page lists sending countries separately. At the same time, one country can have a confirmed registration period while another still shows its dates as undecided.
The official notice can also determine the recruitment round, registration route, occupations or industries involved and the responsible sending agency.
Is recruitment currently open in my country?
Which industry or occupation is being recruited?
What is the registration period?
Which official sending agency handles the process?
Do I meet this round's eligibility requirements?
An old social-media post, another country's timetable or last year's registration week should not set your travel or resignation date.
Check the basic eligibility before registration
HRD Korea's current general EPS-TOPIK guidance lists applicants as male or female and generally 18 to 39 years old.
It also lists disqualifying conditions relating to criminal history, deportation from Korea, immigration restrictions and previous periods of stay under E-9 or E-10 status.
Those are the general test requirements. Your sending country's current recruitment notice still matters because an individual round can contain additional application details.
Do not pay for documents or make travel plans until the active notice for your country has been checked.
Your application name must match the passport
This is a small field with a large consequence.
HRD Korea's application instructions tell applicants to write the English name exactly as it appears in the passport. The date of birth also needs to match the passport information.
The official instructions warn that discrepancies can affect test entry and later immigration processing.
Compare the passport and application character by character — spelling, order, spaces and date of birth.
Do this while the application can still be corrected, not at the test center.
The current general EPS-TOPIK is 40 questions in 50 minutes
| Section | Questions | Points | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reading | 20 | 50 | 25 min |
| Listening | 20 | 50 | 25 min |
| Total | 40 | 100 | 50 min |
The reading section covers vocabulary and grammar, practical information and comprehension.
The listening section uses sounds, visual information, conversations and short spoken material.
HRD Korea describes the test content more broadly than beginner travel Korean. It includes everyday communication in Korea, Korean needed in industrial workplaces and understanding of Korean business culture.
Use the current HRD Korea textbooks, not a random old PDF
The current official study materials are the 2024 revised Standard Korean Textbooks.
Book 1 — Korean for Everyday Life
Book 2 — Korean for Workplace Life
HRD Korea also provides official listening files for both books.
The official textbook archive currently notes that parts of the new material were updated again in June 2026. That is a good reason to download the current files from HRD Korea instead of studying from a copy shared years ago.
The textbook covers vocabulary, grammar, dialogue, pronunciation, useful expressions, Korean culture and information connected to daily and working life.
That combination reflects what the exam is built to measure: not only grammar recognition, but Korean that a worker is expected to understand in ordinary life and at work.
Official practice material is a study tool, not a prediction of the real exam
HRD Korea publishes study materials and open-test resources, but the current test should not be approached as a set of previously published questions that can simply be memorized.
HRD Korea explains that EPS-TOPIK moved away from the old system of drawing the exam directly from a question pool disclosed in advance. Current tests use a closed question-bank approach.
Use practice questions to learn format, pace and vocabulary. Use the standard textbooks to build the language behind them.
The minimum score and final selection are not the same thing
HRD Korea describes the general EPS-TOPIK selection method as a relative evaluation.
A candidate needs to clear the applicable industry minimum, but successful candidates are then determined in order of merit within the planned selection number.
So a sentence such as “I only need the minimum score” can be misleading.
The applicable recruitment notice and selection conditions for your country and industry are more useful than an old score screenshot from another round.
Passing EPS-TOPIK does not assign an employer
HRD Korea describes EPS-TOPIK as an objective selection criterion used in preparing the foreign job-seeker list.
That is not the same as receiving a job assignment.
A successful test result can be followed by other country- and recruitment-specific steps, job-seeker registration, employer selection, an employment contract and the remaining visa and entry process.
Confirm which official EPS stage has actually been completed and what the next notice requires.
A practical preparation order
- Open the current HRD Korea schedule and your sending-country notice.
- Check eligibility before paying application or document costs.
- Match the application name and birth date to the passport.
- Download the current 2024 revised HRD Korea textbooks and listening files.
- Use official practice material for format and timing.
- Take the test under the instructions for your current round.
- After the result, follow the next official EPS employment step rather than assuming a job has already been assigned.
Official sources
Evidence: Source-verified against HRD Korea EPS-TOPIK materials on September 22, 2026.
- HRD Korea — EPS-TOPIK Main Page and Country Schedules
- HRD Korea — What Is EPS-TOPIK?
- HRD Korea — Application Form Instructions
- HRD Korea — Current Standard Korean Textbooks