EPS TOPIK CBT Format: What Changed and How to Prepare

Introduction to EPS TOPIK CBT Format

If you first heard about the EPS-TOPIK from an older cousin, a neighbour or a video made a few years ago, the exam you picture may not be the one you will sit. The booklet, the pencil and the answer sheet have given way to a screen, a pair of headphones and a tap.

That shift is why the EPS TOPIK CBT format is one of the most searched topics among Nepali candidates. People want to know how many questions there are, how long they get, what the screen looks like, and whether the old advice still works. They also keep running into conflicting numbers: 50 questions or 40, 200 marks or 100, 70 minutes or 50.

This guide settles those questions. It explains the current structure as HRD Korea describes it, what changed from the paper exam, how the 2026 first-phase process worked in Nepal, what happens on exam day, and how to prepare for a screen rather than a page. It leans on the Nepal 2026 first-phase notice for practical details, because those are the rules Nepali candidates actually face.

One clarification first. Toddle is a language institute, and language and exam preparation is what it offers. The EPS selection process is run by Korea’s HRD Korea together with Nepal’s Department of Foreign Employment. No institute or consultancy can place you in a job or promise you a result, and nothing in this guide should be read as saying otherwise.

The Short Version

A Quick Glossary Before We Go On

These terms get mixed up constantly, so here they are in one place:

When people in Nepal say “CBT,” they usually mean the screen-based exam in general. The 2026 notice for Nepal specifically names the UBT system, so you can expect a tablet-style setup rather than a desktop computer.

EPS-TOPIK in One Minute

EPS-TOPIK is the Korean-language test used to select foreign workers for jobs in Korea under the Employment Permit System. It is a different test from the general academic TOPIK used for university admission. HRD Korea describes its purpose as assessing basic communication skills for daily life in Korea, the Korean language skills needed in industry, and an understanding of Korean workplace culture.

The language test is only the first stage. After it, candidates still face a skill test and job capacity assessment, and later steps managed by the two governments. Toddle’s guide to what EPS is in South Korea walks through the whole journey, from registration to employer selection.

The Current EPS TOPIK CBT Format at a Glance

Here is the structure as HRD Korea’s official English description lists it, and as the Nepal 2026 notice states it:

All questions are multiple choice with four options, and the exam runs continuously with no break between the sections.

HRD Korea lists the content areas this way:

• Reading: vocabulary and grammar, practical data and information (such as notices and tables), and comprehension.
• Listening: sound recognition, visual data (picture-based items), and conversation or short study passages.

What the numbers mean for pacing

Twenty questions in 25 minutes works out to about 75 seconds per question. That is not a lot, especially for reading passages. If every question in a section carried equal weight, each would be worth 2.5 marks. Treat that as a rough way to think about effort, not an official statement of how items are weighted, because the exam’s weighting rules are HRD Korea’s to publish.

You can read HRD Korea’s own description on its EPS-TOPIK website. For a section-by-section tour of the paper itself, Toddle’s explainer on the EPS TOPIK question paper is a useful companion.

What Changed From the Paper Exam

The biggest change is delivery. Current EPS-TOPIK rounds are computer-based or tablet-based rather than paper-based. In Nepal, the 2026 notice describes the exam as conducted through the UBT system at the UBT Building in Bhaisepati, Lalitpur.

The length and scale also changed. The table below compares today’s exam with the older paper structure as it is commonly described in older guides. Treat the paper column as background, not as something to prepare for:

Many study PDFs still carry the older numbers, and some websites quote 200 marks even for the current exam. HRD Korea’s own English description and the Nepal 2026 notice both list 100 marks in total, 50 per section. If you see a different figure, check it against the notice for your own round instead of trusting a file of unknown age.

What did not change

It is easy to focus on what is new and forget what stayed the same. These points are still true:

So the EPS TOPIK CBT format changes how you take the exam, not what Korean you need to know. Good textbook-based preparation is still valid. What needs updating is how you practise it.

A short history of how Nepal got here

Nepal’s first EPS exam was held in 2008, after the two governments signed their agreement in July 2007. Over time the exam moved from paper to electronic delivery. A dedicated UBT building now operates at Bhaisepati, and the 2022 round for the agriculture and livestock sector, which began on 2 June 2022 (2079-02-19), was already being run at the Bhaisepati computer-based centre. The practical result is that anyone preparing today should assume a screen-based exam.

The 2026 First-Phase Process in Nepal

The practical details in the 2026 first-phase notice, published by the EPS Korea Branch of the Department of Foreign Employment on 21 July 2026, show how strict and compressed the process is.

The window was only seven days long. If you wait until you “feel ready” before collecting your documents, you can miss the window entirely, so keep your files prepared in advance.

For the fee and how it is calculated in rupees, see Toddle’s guide to the EPS TOPIK exam fee. For age rules and how the date window works, see its page on the age limit for EPS Korea.

Sectors and quotas

The notice lists the estimated number of successful candidates by sector:

Each person may apply for only one sector, and the sector cannot be changed after passing the first stage. Applicants must also pick one relevant subsector from the list in the notice. The numbers are estimates: the notice says the final number of successful candidates may rise or fall depending on demand and the cut-off line set from HRD Korea’s results.

What a session looks like

The notice sets out five shifts, each with an orientation period before the 50-minute exam:

The notice also provides a lunch break from 11:55 to 12:55 after the second shift. It adds that the schedule can change depending on the number of applicants or other circumstances, and that your assigned date and venue cannot be changed.

Note that the notice’s tables list reading and listening as 25 minutes each, while HRD Korea’s description lists listening first. Don’t assume the order. Confirm it in your orientation and in the official demo, and practise both sections so the order doesn’t matter.

Application Details That Trip People Up

The online form is strict, and the notice states that mismatched personal details cannot be corrected after registration. The key requirements were:

If your details don’t match your passport, you will not be allowed to sit the exam. That is a harsh outcome for a typing mistake, so check every field before you submit. Use only the official application portal, eoers.epsnepal.gov.np, and follow the Department of Foreign Employment’s announcements at its EPS site for notices.

Exam Day: Rules and Routine

The exam-day rules in the 2026 notice are firm:

• Arrive on time. Candidates who arrive after the designated entry time are not allowed in.
• Bring the same original passport whose copy you submitted, along with your test application slip. Without them you cannot sit the exam.
• No electronic devices. Mobile phones, smartwatches, Bluetooth earphones, cassette players, PDAs and MP3 players are prohibited in the building and rooms. If one is found, your exam is declared invalid.
• Your assigned date and venue cannot be changed.
• Cheating carries a four-year ban. Taking the exam in someone else’s name, cheating, or assisting others to cheat leads to a four-year prohibition from the EPS-TOPIK, and details of those involved may be made public.
• No private party is part of the process. The notice states that no private association, organisation, educational institution or individual is involved in the EPS employment process except the Department of Foreign Employment’s EPS Korea Section.

A simple exam-day checklist:

What the Screen Experience Is Like

You sit at a station with a tablet or screen and headphones. Questions appear on screen, you tap or click your answer, and a countdown timer runs. Picture-based questions show images, and listening items play through the headphones.

HRD Korea offers a free demo on its EPS-TOPIK site (listed as “Experience”), and Toddle lists EPS UBT mock-test seats on its mock test booking page.

A few things differ from paper, and they are worth practising specifically for the EPS TOPIK CBT format:

1. Marking the question works differently. On paper, many candidates underline or circle key words. On screen you may not be able to do that. Check the demo and the venue’s rules on scratch paper, and train yourself to hold key words in your head.
2. Screen reading is tiring. Twenty-five minutes of reading straight after twenty-five minutes of listening is a real transition. Practise the two back to back.
3. Headphones change how you listen. Check the volume at the start and follow the on-screen instructions.
4. Navigation rules matter. Whether you can return to earlier questions within a section follows the on-screen instructions. Learn the interface in the demo instead of assuming it works like paper.
5. Answers are recorded as you select them. Be deliberate with every tap, because there is no separate sheet to tidy up at the end.

What the Exam Actually Tests

HRD Korea builds the exam from its Standard Textbook for EPS-TOPIK, which is organised into 8 topics across 60 chapters in two volumes, based on situations workers meet in Korea. Nothing on the exam requires literary or academic Korean. It tests whether you can function safely and communicate clearly at work and in daily life.

Listening (20 questions, 50 marks)

The content is practical: workplace instructions, shopping, transport, clinics, greetings, announcements and safety messages. The recurring question types are:

An invented illustration of the pattern: a supervisor tells a worker to move boxes to a certain warehouse before lunch, and you choose the picture that shows it. This is not a real exam item, just an example of the level.

Spoken Korean sounds different from written Korean because of sound-change rules such as liaison (a final consonant moving onto the next vowel), nasalisation, aspiration and tensification. Candidates who study only from text often feel the audio is “too fast” when the real problem is unfamiliar sound patterns. Toddle’s guide to the EPS TOPIK listening section explains these rules with the question types.

How many times each audio clip plays is described differently across resources. Prepare as if each clip plays once, and treat any repeat as a bonus. Confirm the rule in your exam instructions.

Reading (20 questions, 50 marks)

Expect vocabulary and grammar items, practical information such as notices, schedules and signs, and short passages with comprehension questions. An invented illustration: a short company notice announces a team dinner with a date and place, and the question asks where it will be held.

A reliable habit is to read the question first, note the key words, and then scan the passage for them. On a 75-second budget per question, rereading a whole passage after you see the question is a luxury you don’t have.

Vocabulary That Pays Off Most

Because the content is practical, vocabulary study works best when organised by situation instead of one long list:

Korean uses native Korean numbers for some purposes (counting objects, hours) and Sino-Korean numbers for others (dates, money, minutes). Mixing them up under time pressure is a common, avoidable way to lose marks, so drill them early.

How Selection Works After the Exam

The first-stage exam score isn’t judged against a fixed mark you can look up in advance. HRD Korea describes the evaluation as relative: you need a score above the lowest cut-off for your sector, and successful candidates are determined in order of merit within the number being selected. Older guides mention a minimum of 80 out of 200, but that came from the paper era and shouldn’t be treated as a rule for the current exam.

In practice, this means cut-offs can differ by sector and by round, and a stronger score gives you a better position. The goal on exam day is not just to scrape through but to answer as many of the 40 questions correctly as your preparation allows.

After the language stage, the Nepal notice says successful candidates must still pass the second-stage skill test and job capacity assessment before they are eligible for final selection. Candidates who pass the language exam but fail the medical examination or receive an adverse police report are not permitted to complete the employment application, according to the notice. Results are checked through eps.go.kr and HRD Korea’s EPS-TOPIK site, and the notice says results will be published after HRD Korea sends its own notice.

How to Prepare for the EPS TOPIK CBT Format

The preparation plan below fits the current exam. It is a sequence, not an official timetable, so stretch or compress it depending on how much time you have.

Phase 1: Foundation

Work through the Standard Textbook in order, using both volumes. HRD Korea publishes the textbook and a self-study e-book library free on its platform, so there is no reason to pay anyone for the core materials. If you are starting from zero Korean, a structured basic Korean language class can give you the alphabet, sounds and early grammar far faster than studying alone.

Phase 2: Two skills, two study blocks

Give listening and reading separate study time. Both carry 50 marks, so neglecting one caps your total as much as neglecting the other. For listening, study the sound-change rules with audio and drill numbers and times. For reading, build vocabulary and practise scanning short notices.

Phase 3: The open question bank

HRD Korea’s open question bank covers both sections and includes listening audio, and it is free. These published items won’t appear on your exam, but they follow the same patterns and difficulty. Work through them by question type, not randomly, so you can see which type costs you the most. For a full walk-through of the approach, see Toddle’s guide on how to pass the EPS TOPIK exam.

Phase 4: Practise on a screen

This is the step specific to the EPS TOPIK CBT format, and the one most candidates skip. Use HRD Korea’s free demo to learn the interface, then take timed practice on a tablet or computer with headphones. Do full 50-minute sessions, with listening and reading back to back. Toddle’s 2026-27 EPS TOPIK model question book and its UBT mock-test seats provide additional timed practice.

Phase 5: Exam week

• Recheck your application slip, original passport and route to Bhaisepati.
• Leave phones, watches and earphones at home or follow the venue’s storage rules.
• Sleep properly, eat before your session and arrive early.
• Don’t learn new material the night before. Review sound patterns and number words, then rest.

Turning Mock Tests Into Real Improvement

A mock test only helps if you study what it reveals. After every timed practice, keep an error log like this:

Sort errors into four groups: vocabulary gaps, sound-pattern problems, pacing problems and careless mistakes. Each group has a different fix, and treating them all as “I need to study more Korean” wastes time.

As a personal benchmark, you can treat consistently high scores on timed open-bank practice sets as a green zone. That is your own target, not an official cut-off, because the real cut-off depends on your sector and round.

Common Mistakes With the CBT Format

• Practising only from paper-era PDFs. The question style may still help, but the length, timing and marks differ from today’s exam.
• Never practising on a screen. The first time you read passages on a tablet shouldn’t be exam day.
• Neglecting listening. It is half the marks and the section candidates most often find surprising.
• Ignoring pacing. About 75 seconds per question leaves little room for hesitation.
• Missing application details. A passport mismatch or a wrong photo size can stop you before the exam starts.
• Bringing a forbidden device. Even a smartwatch can invalidate your exam.
• Paying for “guaranteed” papers or seats. The real questions are held by HRD Korea, and the selection process has no private agents.
• Treating the first stage as the whole process. It is only the first of several stages.
• Relying on social media posts for dates. Use the Department of Foreign Employment’s official notices.

Staying Safe From Scams

Because EPS is a government-to-government scheme, the safe rules are simple. The only official cost for the first-stage exam is the fee paid through the official portal. The notice states that no private organisation or individual is part of the employment process except the Department of Foreign Employment’s EPS Korea Section. Be wary of anyone who:

• Offers a “guaranteed” score, seat or selection.
• Claims to have the real exam questions.
• Asks you to pay extra to “register” you.
• Pressures you to decide quickly or asks for your passport.

If something sounds too easy, check it against the official portal and notices before spending a rupee.

Where Structured Classes Fit

Self-study from the free official materials works for many people. But because the exam is short, timed and equally weighted between two different skills, many candidates benefit from structure: corrected listening practice, timed screen-based sessions and someone to point out exactly where marks are lost.

Toddle, based on School Road in Hetauda since 2018, runs an EPS-TOPIK Korean language class built around the current format, with sector-relevant vocabulary and dedicated listening practice. The class is led by founder Madhab Sapkota, a TOPIK Level 6 holder and certified Korean language instructor. Its role is language and exam preparation, not placement. The roster, selection and job process run only through the Department of Foreign Employment and HRD Korea.

Frequently Asked Questions about EPS TOPIK CBT Format

1. What is the EPS TOPIK CBT format?
It is the computer- or tablet-based version of the EPS-TOPIK: 40 multiple-choice questions, 20 listening and 20 reading, worth 100 marks in total, over 50 minutes with no break between sections. In Nepal, the 2026 notice describes tablet-based testing (UBT) at the Bhaisepati building.

2. How many questions are on the EPS-TOPIK now?
Forty, split evenly between listening and reading.

3. How many marks is the exam out of?
HRD Korea’s description and the Nepal 2026 notice list 100 marks, 50 per section. Some websites quote 200, which reflects the older paper structure or a different scale, so rely on your round’s official notice.

4. How long is the exam?
Fifty minutes: 25 minutes for listening and 25 minutes for reading, run continuously.

5. What is the difference between CBT and UBT?
CBT is computer-based testing and UBT is tablet-based testing. Nepal’s 2026 notice names UBT, though candidates commonly say CBT for any screen-based version.

6. Is the paper exam still used?
Current rounds are screen-based, and Nepal’s 2026 first-phase exam is tablet-based. Older guides describe a paper structure that no longer matches what you will sit.

7. What changed from the paper exam to the computer version?
The delivery (screen and headphones instead of paper), the length (40 questions and 50 minutes instead of the commonly cited 50 questions and 70 minutes) and the marking scale (100 marks instead of 200).

8. Which section comes first?
HRD Korea’s description lists listening first, while the Nepal notice’s tables list reading first. Confirm the order in your orientation and the demo, and practise both.

9. Can I go back to earlier questions?
Navigation follows the on-screen instructions. Learn the interface in the free demo and don’t assume it behaves like paper.

10. How many times does the audio play?
Sources describe this differently. Prepare as if each clip plays once, and confirm the rule in your exam instructions.

11. Can I take notes or use scratch paper?
Rules vary by venue and format, so confirm what is allowed at your session. If you are allowed to jot things down, practise doing it quickly during your mocks.

12. How much is the exam fee in Nepal?
US$28 for the 2026 first phase, paid in rupees at the Nepal Rastra Bank rate on the day of registration.

13. How do I apply?
Through the official portal, eoers.epsnepal.gov.np, during the window announced by the Department of Foreign Employment. In 2026 the window was 27 July to 2 August.

14. What is the age limit?
In 2026 the first-phase notice required applicants to be at least 18 and not older than 39, born between 28 July 1986 and 27 July 2008.

15. What if my name or photo doesn’t match my passport?
You will not be permitted to take the exam, and the notice says details cannot be corrected after registration. Check everything before submitting.

16. How is the passing score decided?
HRD Korea describes a relative evaluation: you need a score above the lowest cut-off for your sector, and successful candidates are chosen in order of merit within the number selected.

17. How long is a successful result valid?
Two years from the date results are published, according to the 2026 notice.

18. Can I choose more than one sector?
No. You can apply for only one sector, and it cannot be changed after you pass the first stage.

19. What happens after I pass the language exam?
You still need to pass the skill test and job capacity assessment and complete later steps before final selection. Passing doesn’t guarantee a job.

20. What items are banned on exam day?
Mobile phones, smartwatches, Bluetooth earphones, cassette players, PDAs and MP3 players, among other electronic devices. Finding one can invalidate your exam.

21. What documents must I bring?
The same original passport whose copy you submitted and your test application slip. Without them, you cannot sit the exam.

22. What happens if I cheat?
Taking the exam in another person’s name, cheating or helping others cheat leads to a four-year ban, according to the 2026 notice.

23. Where can I practise the screen interface for free?
HRD Korea’s EPS-TOPIK site offers a free demo, plus the Standard Textbook and an open question bank. Toddle also lists UBT mock-test seats on its mock test booking page.

24. Are the open question bank items on the real exam?
No. They are practice items that follow the same patterns, while the real questions come from a closed bank held by HRD Korea.

25. Can an institute or agent guarantee my result?
No. The Nepal notice says no private party is involved in the EPS employment process except the Department of Foreign Employment’s EPS Korea Section. A class can prepare your Korean, but it can’t place you or promise a score.

26. How can Toddle help me prepare for the computer-based exam?
Toddle runs an EPS-TOPIK Korean language class with timed practice, listening drills and sector-relevant vocabulary. It is language and exam preparation, not job placement.

Conclusion: Prepare for the Screen You Will Actually Sit

The EPS TOPIK CBT format is simple once you see it clearly: 40 questions, 50 minutes, two equal sections, and a screen instead of paper. What separates candidates is rarely the format itself. It is whether their preparation matched it, with enough listening practice, enough timed screen practice, and a clean application and exam-day routine.

If you want structured help, start with Toddle’s EPS-TOPIK Korean language class, or message a teacher directly on WhatsApp at +977 9769741767: https://wa.me/9779769741767

For the official format description, use HRD Korea’s EPS-TOPIK site, and for applications and notices in Nepal, use only the Department of Foreign Employment’s official channels.