KOREAN · Common Test for University Admissions (大学入学共通テスト)
KOREAN/11
Korean Written Paper
Korean · 2023 · Variant 1
Relative difficulty
Analysis source: National Center for University Entrance Examinations (DNC)
Analysis aligned to the official syllabus and assessment design.
3.0 / 5
200
80 min
Particles, verb endings, connectives and dialogue intent are the most valuable areas because they determine relationship, reason, contrast and next action.
Cohort performance
Session statistics from official examination reports
Total marks
200
Duration
80 min
Session difficulty
3.0 / 5
Calculator policy
Scientific calculators permitted only where specified in the DNC implementation guidelines; programming functions and CAS are prohibited. En
Key examiner messages
Top priorities from the principal examiner before you revise
韓国語 assesses written Korean comprehension, grammar, vocabulary and communicative understanding based on senior high school foreign-language objectives. The Common Test written paper emphasizes practical communication, contextual grammar, discourse markers and reading connected…
Korean follows the DNC foreign-language written paper structure: 80 minutes and 200 marks.
Particles carry grammatical relations that word order alone may not reveal; they are core evidence in comprehension questions.
Connective endings often decide cause, contrast, sequence or condition, so they should be marked in every passage.
The DNC Problem Evaluation Committee publishes per-subject reports after each January session, rating alignment with the Course of Study (学習指導要領), item difficulty balance, and whether items discriminate without exceeding syllabus scope.
Question difficulty map
How candidates performed on each question in this series
No data available in official reports
Assessment objectives
Skill and AO weighting from official examiner commentary
Skill weighting
Cognitive skills emphasised in official test design.
Reading comprehension
Weight: 41100%Grammar application
Weight: 3278%Vocabulary inference
Weight: 1741%Register/context judgment
Weight: 1024%
Method marks watchlist
Where working, steps, or method marks were commonly lost
No data available in official reports
Recurring mistakes across years
Themes examiners flag in multiple recent sessions for this subject
Particles: Ignoring topic/subject or location/direction distinctions. — Translate particle function before translating the noun phrase.
Endings: Treating a suggestion, intention or obligation ending as a plain statement. — Identify mood and speech level from the final ending.
Connectives: Missing contrast or cause and selecting the wrong logical relation. — Underline connectives and state their relation in Japa…
Honorifics: Reversing who is respected in a dialogue. — Track honorific subject markers and verbs, then map speaker/listener roles.
Vocabulary: Relying on sound similarity without checking context. — Use surrounding particles, verb stem and topic to infer meaning.
Question choice intelligence
Mean scores and popularity for optional questions (HKDSE electives)
No data available in official reports
Level exemplars
What candidate scripts at each grade level looked like
No data available in official reports
Grade & admission context
How marks relate to grade thresholds and entry standards
Official body
National Center for University Entrance Examinations (DNC)
Grading system
Foreign-language papers (excluding English) are scored 0–200 raw; universities apply deviation values
Scale band
0–200 raw
Scale band
Deviation value
Scale band
University cut-off
Deep insights
What top candidates did
Techniques and approaches examiners rewarded in this series
Use particles as structure
은/는, 이/가, 을/를, 에, 에서, 에게 and 로 identify topic, subject, object, location, recipient and means. Mark them before translating.
Track endings and politeness
Sentence endings show tense, mood, politeness and speaker attitude. Dialogue questions often test relationship and intent through endings.
Master connectives
Because, although, after, while and if connectives determine logic. Pay attention to -지만, -아서/어서, -니까, -면 and -고.
Read practical texts by action
For notices and messages, identify who must do what, when, where and under what condition.
Infer from morphology
Korean verbs and adjectives build meaning through stems plus endings. Strip endings to find the base, then rebuild tense and nuance.
Watch honorifics
시, 께서, 드리다 and formal endings signal respect relationships. These can decide speaker identity and correct response.
Command word playbook
How to match each command word to the expected response style
No data available in official reports
Time traps
Sections where candidates spent disproportionate time relative to marks
No data available in official reports
Syllabus traceability
Topics linked to questions and mark weighting in this session
Reading comprehension and practical communication
Official topic weighting
Grammar: particles, endings, connectives and honorifics
Official topic weighting
Vocabulary, morphology and expressions
Official topic weighting
Culture, register and discourse context
Official topic weighting
MCQ trap analytics
Commonly chosen wrong options from examiner commentary
No data available in official reports
Topic heatmap across years
Mark concentration by topic and exam year for this subject
Mark intensity
Reading comprehension and practical communication
Grammar: particles, endings, connectives and honorifics
Vocabulary, morphology and expressions
Culture, register and discourse context
Difficulty trend
How session difficulty has shifted across recent years
Paper comparison
Marks and duration breakdown across papers in this session
Korean Written Paper: Reading passages, dialogues, notices, grammar/vocabulary in context and communication tasks
Marks you can still earn
Where valid approaches outside the mark scheme may still gain credit
No data available in official reports
Practise what examiners flagged
Target weak topics from this report inside the Revui app
Reading comprehension and practical communication
Official topic weighting
Practise in RevuiGrammar: particles, endings, connectives and honorifics
Official topic weighting
Practise in RevuiVocabulary, morphology and expressions
Official topic weighting
Practise in RevuiCulture, register and discourse context
Official topic weighting
Practise in RevuiSelf-diagnostic checklist
Key actions before you sit this paper — copy and tick off as you revise
- 1Message
韓国語 assesses written Korean comprehension, grammar, vocabulary and communicative understanding based on senior high school foreign-language objectives. The Common Test written paper emphasizes practical communication, contextual grammar, discourse markers and reading connected…
- 2Message
Korean follows the DNC foreign-language written paper structure: 80 minutes and 200 marks.
- 3Message
Particles carry grammatical relations that word order alone may not reveal; they are core evidence in comprehension questions.
- 4Message
Connective endings often decide cause, contrast, sequence or condition, so they should be marked in every passage.
- 5Message
The DNC Problem Evaluation Committee publishes per-subject reports after each January session, rating alignment with the Course of Study (学習指導要領), item difficulty balance, and whether items discriminate without exceeding syllabus scope.
- 6Pitfall
Particles: Ignoring topic/subject or location/direction distinctions. — Translate particle function before translating the noun phrase.
- 7Pitfall
Endings: Treating a suggestion, intention or obligation ending as a plain statement. — Identify mood and speech level from the final ending.
- 8Pitfall
Connectives: Missing contrast or cause and selecting the wrong logical relation. — Underline connectives and state their relation in Japa…
- 9Pitfall
Honorifics: Reversing who is respected in a dialogue. — Track honorific subject markers and verbs, then map speaker/listener roles.
- 10Pitfall
Vocabulary: Relying on sound similarity without checking context. — Use surrounding particles, verb stem and topic to infer meaning.
- 11Strength
Use particles as structure: 은/는, 이/가, 을/를, 에, 에서, 에게 and 로 identify topic, subject, object, location, recipient and means. Mark
- 12Strength
Track endings and politeness: Sentence endings show tense, mood, politeness and speaker attitude. Dialogue questions often test re
- 13Strength
Master connectives: Because, although, after, while and if connectives determine logic. Pay attention to -지만, -아서/어서, -니
Teacher briefing pack
One-page session summary for tutors and classroom review
2023 2023
Korean
韓国語 assesses written Korean comprehension, grammar, vocabulary and communicative understanding based on senior high school foreign-language objectives. The Common Test written paper emphasizes practical communication, contextual grammar, discourse markers and reading connected te
韓国語 assesses written Korean comprehension, grammar, vocabulary and communicative understanding based on senior high school foreign-language objectives. The Common Test written paper emphasizes practical communication, contextual grammar, discourse markers and reading connected…
Korean follows the DNC foreign-language written paper structure: 80 minutes and 200 marks.
Particles carry grammatical relations that word order alone may not reveal; they are core evidence in comprehension questions.
Particles: Ignoring topic/subject or location/direction distinctions. — Translate particle function before translating the noun phrase.
Endings: Treating a suggestion, intention or obligation ending as a plain statement. — Identify mood and speech level from the final ending.
- Total marks
- 200
- Duration
- 80 min
- Session difficulty
- 3.0 / 5
- Calculator policy
- Scientific calculators permitted only where specified in the DNC implementation guidelines; programming functions and CAS are prohibited. En
Session analysis
韓国語 assesses written Korean comprehension, grammar, vocabulary and communicative understanding based on senior high school foreign-language objectives. The Common Test written paper emphasizes practical communication, contextual grammar, discourse markers and reading connected texts. National Center for University Entrance Examinations (DNC) emphasises particles, verb endings, connectives and dialogue intent are the most valuable areas because they determine relationship, reason, contrast and next action.. Priority revision: Reading comprehension and practical communication, Grammar: particles, endings, connectives and honorifics, Vocabulary, morphology and expressions, Culture, register and discourse context. 은/는, 이/가, 을/를, 에, 에서, 에게 and 로 identify topic, subject, object, location, recipient and means. Mark them before translating.
Updated 2026-07-03
Paper breakdown
Korean Written Paper: Reading passages, dialogues, notices, grammar/vocabulary in context and communication tasks
Top chapters
Exam structure insights
Marks by syllabus topic
Revision priority from official test-design weighting.
Mark accessibility
Estimated difficulty spread based on official design.
Particles, verb endings, connectives and dialogue intent are the most valuable a
Paper structure
Official paper breakdown for this subject.
Korean Written Paper
200·10·100%
Official syllabus scope
韓国語 assesses written Korean comprehension, grammar, vocabulary and communicative understanding based on senior high school foreign-language objectives. The Common Test written paper emphasizes practical communication, contextual grammar, discourse markers and reading connected texts.
Difficulty verdict
Rated 3/5 for January sessions. Particles, verb endings, connectives and dialogue intent are the most valuable areas because they determine relationship, reason, contrast and next action.
What examiners measure
1. Understand Korean passages, dialogues, notices and practical written texts. 2. Apply grammar including particles, endings, honorifics, tense/aspect and connectives. 3. Infer vocabulary and phrase meaning from morphology and context. 4. Interpret speaker relationship, politeness, intention and cultural context. 5. Manage an 80-minute, 200-point foreign-language written paper accurately.
Where the marks are
Highest-weight syllabus areas: Reading comprehension and practical communication; Grammar: particles, endings, connectives and honorifics; Vocabulary, morphology and expressions; Culture, register and discourse context.
Examiner notes & key calculations
- Korean follows the DNC foreign-language written paper structure: 80 minutes and 200 marks.
- Particles carry grammatical relations that word order alone may not reveal; they are core evidence in comprehension questions.
- Connective endings often decide cause, contrast, sequence or condition, so they should be marked in every passage.
- Honorific forms test social relationship as well as grammar; identify who performs the action and who receives respect.
- Practical texts commonly ask next action, schedule condition or purpose. Scan dates, places and requirements first.
- For long sentences, find the final predicate and then attach modifiers and clauses backward.
- Dialogue completion items reward natural response: match formality, intent and information need, not only grammar correctness.
- Paper 1: Korean Written Paper · 200 marks · 80 min · Reading passages, dialogues, notices, grammar/vocabulary in context and communication tasks.
Exam tips
Paper format
- Duration
- 80 min
- Total marks
- 200
- Weighting
- 100%
- Question types
- Reading passages, dialogues, notices, grammar/vocabulary in context and communication tasks
- 은/는, 이/가, 을/를, 에, 에서, 에게 and 로 identify topic, subject, object, location, recipient and means. Mark them before translating.
- Sentence endings show tense, mood, politeness and speaker attitude. Dialogue questions often test relationship and intent through endings.
- Because, although, after, while and if connectives determine logic. Pay attention to -지만, -아서/어서, -니까, -면 and -고.
Common mistakes
Particles
Ignoring topic/subject or location/direction distinctions.
How to avoid: Translate particle function before translating the noun phrase.
Endings
Treating a suggestion, intention or obligation ending as a plain statement.
How to avoid: Identify mood and speech level from the final ending.
Connectives
Missing contrast or cause and selecting the wrong logical relation.
How to avoid: Underline connectives and state their relation in Japanese or English.
Analysis is paraphrased for study purposes. Always verify against the official examiner report and mark scheme.