EPS-TOPIK Vocabulary: How Many Words You Need (Book 1 & 2)

There is no official EPS-TOPIK word list. The closest thing is the free Standard Textbook for EPS-TOPIK. Its vocabulary comes to about 2,200 words: 1,526 daily-life words and 657 workplace words. At 20 new words a day, that is about 110 study days.

• Learn the 1,526 daily-life words first. They are the base for most questions.
• Add the 657 workplace words if you have time. Selection is by rank, so every extra word can mean extra points.
• Review every word the next day. Review a brand-new word the next day and about 6 in 10 stick. Wait a week and it's under half.

Written by the Tomaru team, the people who build the Tomaru vocabulary app. Source for Tomaru figures: Tomaru anonymized learning data (2026).

EPS-TOPIK vocabulary in one table

What EPS-TOPIK tests

EPS-TOPIK is the Korean test for the Employment Permit System (EPS). EPS lets workers from partner countries work in Korea on an E-9 visa. HRD Korea (Human Resources Development Service of Korea) runs the test.

There are 17 partner countries in 2026: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

The key facts:

• It is a computer-based test. There are two parts: reading and listening. All questions are multiple choice.
• The total score is 200. You need 80 or more to be considered.
• After that, candidates are ranked by score. They are selected from the top until each country's places are filled. So 80 is the minimum, not the goal.
• A result is valid for 2 years.
• For the number of questions and the test time, check the official announcement for your country.

There is no writing section and no level 1 to 6. Everything depends on Korean you read and hear: notices, signs, short conversations and instructions at work. That makes vocabulary the biggest single factor in your score.

Is there an official EPS-TOPIK word list?

No. HRD Korea publishes a textbook, not a word list. The Standard Textbook for EPS-TOPIK is free to download. It comes with MP3 files for listening.

The textbook has 60 chapters across 8 topics:

1. Preliminary (Korean letters and sounds)
2. The basics of life in Korea
3. Daily life and free time
4. Public institutions (bank, post office, hospital, immigration)
5. Korean culture
6. Workplace culture
7. Work life (instructions, tools, safety)
8. Laws and systems (contracts, labour rules)

The 2024 edition comes as two books: one for daily-life Korean and one for work-life Korean. That is why people search for "EPS-TOPIK vocabulary book 1 and 2".

The test is built around this textbook. So the textbook's vocabulary is the best word list you can use. Each chapter starts with a vocabulary page, so the words are already grouped by topic.

How many words do you need for EPS-TOPIK?

Aim for about 1,500 words at minimum and about 2,200 to be well prepared.

You will often read "about 1,200 to 1,500 core words" online. That range fits the daily-life part, but those articles usually do not say where the number comes from.

We turned the textbook vocabulary into two word lists:

• Daily Life Korean: 1,526 words. This is the base for almost every question.
• Workplace Korean: 657 words. Many questions happen at work: a supervisor's instruction, a safety notice, a schedule change.
• Total: 2,183 words. The two lists do not repeat any word.

You do not need to know every word perfectly. Because the test is ranked, each extra word you recognise quickly is a chance for extra points.

What EPS-TOPIK words look like

From the Daily Life list: who you are and what is around you

• Countries: 네팔 (Nepal), 필리핀 (the Philippines), 방글라데시 (Bangladesh), 스리랑카 (Sri Lanka), 미얀마 (Myanmar), 파키스탄 (Pakistan).
• Jobs: 근로자 (worker), 기술자 (technician), 회사원 (office worker), 간호사 (nurse), 요리사 (cook), 운전기사 (driver).
• Objects: 가위 (scissors), 계산기 (calculator), 달력 (calendar), 시계 (clock, watch), 볼펜 (ballpoint pen), 안경 (glasses).

From the Workplace list, which also covers weather and Korean culture

• Weather: 기온 (temperature), 습도 (humidity), 영하 (below zero), 최고기온 (highest temperature).
• Food: 냉면 (cold noodles), 호떡 (sweet filled pancake), 팥빙수 (shaved ice with red beans).
• Holidays, as phrases: 떡국을 먹다 (to eat rice-cake soup, at New Year), 세뱃돈을 받다 (to receive New Year money), 송편을 만들다 (to make songpyeon, at Chuseok).
• Work and safety: following instructions, tools and machines, protective equipment, warning signs, working hours, wages and contracts. These words matter twice: on the test and on your first day at work.

Two things to notice. First, many entries are phrases, not single words (떡국을 먹다, not only 떡국). Learn them as phrases, because that is how they appear in listening questions. Second, a lot of this is listening vocabulary. You must recognise 습도 when you hear it, not only when you read it.

How many new words a day?

Count back from your test date. This table assumes you study 6 days a week and keep the last 2 weeks for review only.

New words are only half the work. Every word needs a few reviews in the following weeks. After the first two weeks, reviews become a big part of each session. Choose a number you can keep for months.

Less than 3 months? Start with the Daily Life words. Add Workplace words only if you are on schedule.

How to remember EPS-TOPIK words while you work

Most EPS-TOPIK candidates are not full-time students. They study after a shift, on the bus or late at night. The methods that work best also need the least time.

Test yourself. Do not just reread. Look at the Korean word and say the meaning out loud. Then check. Or look at the English and say the Korean. Pulling the answer out of your memory is what makes it stay. Reading a list again and again only makes the words look familiar.

Review the next day. This is the most important habit. Review a brand-new word the next day and about 6 in 10 stick. Wait a week and it's under half.

Then spread reviews over weeks. A review of 317 experiments found that people who studied in separate sessions remembered 47.3% on the final test. People who studied the same material all at once remembered 36.7% (Cepeda et al., 2006). A word you remember easily can wait longer. A word you forgot should come back soon.

Split your day into two short sessions. For example: 10 minutes of review on the way to work, and 10 minutes of new words in the evening.

Always listen. Half of the test is listening. Play the audio for every new word. Use the textbook MP3s for full conversations. Korean sound changes make some words sound different from their spelling, so learn the sound from the start.

Connect words to signs and places. Questions use notices, forms, manuals and safety signs. When you learn "below zero" or "humidity", imagine where you would see it: a weather report, or a sign at a factory entrance.

Review before new words. If you only have 5 minutes today, spend them on review.

For the research behind these steps, see how to stop forgetting vocabulary.

Mistakes that cost points

• Copying lists many times. It feels hard, so it feels useful. But writing a word ten times in one evening is the opposite of spreading reviews over days.
• Cramming in the last week. You remember a lot that night and much less on test day. Keep the last 2 weeks for review and practice tests.
• Learning only by reading. If you can read 기온 but miss it in a fast weather announcement, you lose the listening question.
• Missing review days. Reviews pile up. Keep a small daily habit, even on busy days.
• Using lists with no examples. One example sentence per word shows how the word is used. That is what the test checks.

A 12-week schedule (Daily Life + Workplace)

With more time, keep the same structure and use a smaller daily number from the table above.

EPS-TOPIK vs TOPIK word lists

TOPIK I lists overlap with EPS-TOPIK in basic words such as numbers, time, family and food. But TOPIK is a general test for study and jobs, while EPS-TOPIK is built around life and work in Korea. If your goal is EPS, start with the EPS textbook vocabulary. Use a TOPIK I list as extra practice. For the general test, see TOPIK I vs TOPIK II.

Studying EPS-TOPIK words in Tomaru

We wrote this article and we build Tomaru, so here is what we made. Both EPS-TOPIK lists are in Tomaru with English meanings and example sentences: Daily Life Korean (1,526 words) and Workplace Korean (657 words). There is also a Hangul deck if you are starting from the alphabet. Set your test date, and Tomaru works out how many new words a day you need and about how many minutes that takes, then brings each word back on a schedule. Words studied that way are still remembered 8 to 9 times in 10 a week to a month later. The core vocabulary features are free forever, with no ads. You can see every word on the list pages before you start.

FAQ

How many words do I need for EPS-TOPIK?

There is no official list. The vocabulary of the Standard Textbook for EPS-TOPIK comes to about 2,200 words: 1,526 daily-life words and 657 workplace words. About 1,500 is a realistic minimum.

Is there an EPS-TOPIK vocabulary PDF from HRD Korea?

HRD Korea publishes the Standard Textbook for EPS-TOPIK, with MP3 files, for free. It does not publish a separate word list. Each chapter of the textbook starts with a vocabulary page.

What are EPS-TOPIK Book 1 and Book 2?

The 2024 edition of the Standard Textbook comes as two books: one for daily-life Korean and one for work-life Korean. Together they cover 60 chapters across 8 topics.

Is EPS-TOPIK the same as TOPIK?

No. TOPIK is a general Korean test with levels 1 to 6. EPS-TOPIK is a separate test for the Employment Permit System, scored out of 200, with reading and listening only.

How long is an EPS-TOPIK result valid?

Two years. If no employer selects you in that time, you need to take the test again.

What score should I aim for?

80 out of 200 is the minimum to be considered. Selection is by rank, so aim as high as you can.

Do I need to learn Hangul first?

Yes. Learn to read Hangul before you start the word lists. It takes days, not months, and the first part of the textbook covers it.

How many minutes a day should I study EPS-TOPIK vocabulary?

For most working candidates, 20 to 30 minutes a day is enough if you review before learning new words.

Can I pass with only the daily-life words?

You may reach the minimum score. Because selection is by rank, the workplace words are worth learning if you have time.

References

• Joy of Korean, "A Complete 2026 EPS TOPIK Test Guide" (January 4, 2026). https://joyofkorean.com/eps-topik/
• JOBPLOY, "EPS TOPIK Preparation Guide for 2026 E-9 Workers" (January 19, 2026). https://www.jobploy.kr/en/content/eps-topik-preparation-2026
• KoWorkPal, "The EPS-TOPIK Korean Test". https://koworkpal.com/en/visa/eps-topik
• TOPIK GUIDE, "Download Free Korean Textbooks for EPS-TOPIK Test (KLT) with Audio". https://www.topikguide.com/download-free-korean-textbooks-for-eps-topik-test-klt-with-audio/
• PinoySeoul, "Free EPS-TOPIK Reviewer Download" (August 28, 2025). https://www.pinoyseoul.com/2025/08/free-eps-topik-reviewer-download.html
• Cepeda, N. J., Pashler, H., Vul, E., Wixted, J. T., & Rohrer, D. (2006). Distributed practice in verbal recall tasks: A review and quantitative synthesis. *Psychological Bulletin, 132*(3), 354–380. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.132.3.354
• Tomaru anonymized learning data (2026).