SEOUL, October 31 (AJP) - The official website for the Test of Proficiency in Korean, or TOPIK, has resumed normal operations, about two months after a fire at a government data center forced cancellations of some tests, the Ministry of Education and the National Institute for International Education said Friday.
The restoration means that upcoming tests, including those scheduled for November, will be held as planned, officials said, adding most systems related to test administration have now been fully recovered.
The website, topik.go.kr, serves as the main portal for hundreds of thousands of applicants worldwide who take the Korean language test each year.
With the system restored, test-takers can once again log in to download their official score reports, which are required for university admissions, graduation, and visa procedures. TOPIK results are also used as a key evaluation criterion in government programs assessing universities’ internationalization capacity and their management of foreign students.
The 103rd paper-based TOPIK (PBT) and the 10th internet-based TOPIK (IBT) will both proceed next month as scheduled. About 36,000 candidates in South Korea and 49,000 in 11 other countries have registered for the 103rd PBT, which will take place on Nov. 16. Details on printing admission tickets will be provided later through the website, officials said.
The 10th IBT, which faced disruptions during its registration period due to the system failure, will reopen for additional applications from Nov. 4 to 6. The test will be administered in South Korea and in three overseas countries.
The 102nd PBT, held during the outage, was conducted using pre-stored data, but the 9th IBT and the 9th speaking test were canceled because both formats rely on active online systems. Applicants for the canceled IBT have been refunded, while those who wish to sit for the 10th IBT have been given a registration opportunity.
The 9th speaking test, which had been planned only in South Korea, has also been canceled and refunded.
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