Applications opened Monday for those wanting to take the Test of Proficiency in Korean on Oct. 16.

Test-takers can choose to sit for the lower-level TOPIK I in the morning or the higher level TOPIK II in the afternoon at one of nine test centers across the country.

The TOPIK I test runs from 9:20-11:40 a.m., awards grades 1 and 2 and consists of listening and reading sections. The TOPIK II, covering grades 3-6, has listening and writing sections followed by a separate reading exam, with the whole test running from 12:30-4:30 p.m.

Fees for the TOPIK I are 35,000 won and the TOPIK II costs 40,000 won. Applications can be made online via www.topik.go.kr, and are set to close on Aug. 18.

Results will be announced on Nov. 24.

(paulkerry@heraldcorp.com)