KTA Hanja Test

Hanja Grade Qualification Test (한자급수자격검정)

Korea Test Association (대한검정회), run with 사단법인 대한민국한자교육연구회 · KO tests Korean

UpcomingOfficial site ↗

Nov282026
113th paper test
Official schedule. All levels; be seated by 13:40, test starts 14:00. Registration closed 16 October.
Test date
Dec212026
Results for the 113th test
On the official site from 10:00; the certificate can be printed there.
Results

Dates are from the organisation's official announcements. Always confirm on the official site before you apply.

Taking the test

Fee: ₩20,000 (8급–5급), ₩22,000 (준4급–준3급), ₩25,000 (3급–2급), ₩40,000 (준1급, 1급), ₩58,000 (사범, 대사범), plus ₩1,000 for applying online (2026). The certificate is free to print online.
How often: Paper tests four times a year, on Saturdays (February, May, August and November in 2026), all levels at 14:00. The online test for Levels 8–3 ran twice in 2026 (February and August).
Format: Paper test. Levels 8–3 are multiple choice only (25 or 50 questions, 40 minutes). Pre-2 and 2 add 50 written answers (60 minutes); Pre-1, 1 and Master add 100 (90 minutes). Grand Master is translation and essay questions on the Confucian classics (60 minutes). Levels 8–3 can also be taken online at home.
Run by: Korea Test Association (대한검정회), run with 사단법인 대한민국한자교육연구회
Apply: Official site ↗

Levels

Level	What it means	Hanja	To pass
Grand Master (대사범)	Translation and essays on the Great Learning, Analects, Mencius, Doctrine of the Mean, Gomun Jinbo and Saryak. 10 passages, 100 questions.	Classical texts	70 of 100
Master (사범)	Hanja knowledge plus advanced classical Chinese. 50 multiple-choice and 100 written questions.	5,000	105 of 150
Level 1 (1급)	Hanja knowledge plus intermediate classical Chinese (part II).	3,500	105 of 150
Level Pre-1 (준1급)	Hanja knowledge plus intermediate classical Chinese (part I).	2,500	105 of 150
Levels 2 and Pre-2	Hanja knowledge plus basic classical Chinese. 50 multiple-choice and 50 written questions. The easiest nationally certified levels.	2,000 / 1,500	70 of 100
Levels 3 and Pre-3	Hanja knowledge. 50 multiple-choice questions.	1,000 / 800	35 of 50
Levels 4 and Pre-4	Hanja knowledge. 50 multiple-choice questions.	600 / 400	35 of 50
Levels 5, Pre-5 and 6	Hanja knowledge. 50 multiple-choice questions.	250 → 70	35 of 50
Levels 7 and 8	Starter levels. 25 multiple-choice questions.	50 / 30	18 of 25

You need 70% at every level. Each level includes all the hanja of the levels below it. The online test for Levels 8–3 has the same pass marks but shorter times (15–25 minutes). The organisation does not publish pass rates.

What it tests

Tested

Reading hanja
Writing hanja by hand
Idioms and set phrases
Vocabulary

Not tested

Listening
Speaking
Grammar

It tests hanja and, from Level Pre-2 up, classical Chinese texts. There is no listening or speaking, and Levels 8–3 have no handwritten answers.

Languages and where to take it

Test language: Entirely in Korean, with hanja and classical Chinese texts.
Instructions: Instructions and the website are in Korean only.
Where: Paper tests at venues across South Korea, organised through regional branches. The online test is taken at home on a computer or Android tablet with a camera (no Apple devices) and cannot be taken from abroad.
How long it counts

What it's recognised for

Levels Pre-2 to Master are nationally certified (Ministry of Education no. 2023-5, for 2024–2026). They count toward Korea's Academic Credit Bank (6 credits for Master, 5 for Level 1, 3 for Pre-1), and several universities accept them toward graduation requirements, for example Korea University (certified levels) and Chung-Ang University (Level 4 and up).

About the exam

Who it's for: A test of hanja, the Chinese characters used in Korean, running since 1996. The lower levels are mostly taken by schoolchildren; the top levels test classical Chinese and are aimed at adults, teachers and specialists.
Levels and scores: Fifteen levels from 8급 (easiest) to 대사범 (Grand Master), including 준 ("pre") levels such as 준2급. 준2급 to 사범 are nationally certified (국가공인); 8급 to 3급 and 대사범 are a registered private qualification.