"Even a Mistake Costs 80,000 Won" Exam Fees Rise... Inflation Hits Job Seekers Hard

TOEIC Speaking, HSK Followed by G-TELP Test Fee Increase
Rising Economic Burden on Job Seekers Amid High Inflation

Young job seekers are looking at the recruitment bulletin board. Photo by Asia Economy DB.

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] # College student Kim Ajeong (25, pseudonym) was shocked when she saw the test fee while trying to take the TOEIC Speaking test for employment. She said, "It's not like you only take the test once. You have to keep taking it until you get the desired result, but it costs more than 80,000 won each time, so it's burdensome," adding, "How much money do college students have? Taking the test three times costs more than 250,000 won."

Recently, as test fees have been rising one after another, job seekers' sighs have deepened. Due to rising prices, wallets have become thinner, and with the continuous increase in test fees, the economic burden has grown. Especially since many take the test multiple times to achieve the desired score, and if attending a private academy, they also have to pay for tuition and textbooks, increasing the burden even more.

Recently, the internationally recognized English test 'G-TELP' announced that from the 15th, the regular test fee will increase from 66,300 won to 71,100 won. G-TELP is a test that substitutes the English subject in national exams such as military officials and police officers. G-TELP stated, "Due to the rise in all costs related to the test (labor costs, printing, transportation, management, implementation, etc.) and the continuous occurrence of additional expenses, we decided to increase the test fee reflecting the inflation."

Earlier, the TOEIC Speaking test fee was also raised by 7,000 won from 77,000 won to 84,000 won starting from the regular test on the 2nd. This is the first fee increase in 10 years since 2012. The HSK (Hanyu Shuiping Kaoshi), a Chinese proficiency test, also raised its fees from a minimum of 5,000 won to a maximum of 22,000 won depending on the level starting from the March test.

Photo by Online Community Screenshot.

As test fees rise one after another, job seekers, whose pockets are already light, are sighing deeply. In online communities where job seekers gather, comments such as "I don't know why language test scores are so expensive. The price makes me more nervous during the test," "If you don't have money, you can't even build your specs," and "Can't they at least extend the validity period of the scores?" have appeared.

Especially considering that job seekers have to take the test multiple times to get higher scores, the burden increases further. Additionally, the costs for private academies and textbooks required for the test are not negligible. Also, official scores like TOEIC and TOEFL are difficult to verify after the two-year validity period. Therefore, even if you get a good score, once the validity period expires, you have to bear the test fee again.

With the growing economic burden, job seekers are tightening their belts. For example, they trade TOEIC and certification textbooks through secondhand trading platforms and study independently using YouTube classes instead of attending academies. Some also share online video streaming services (OTT) with others to save on living expenses.

Meanwhile, some local governments are running test fee support programs to ease the burden on young people. Gwangjin-gu in Seoul supports 1,000 young people by covering the test fee once a year for one of the TOEIC, TOEIC Speaking, or OPIC tests. Anyang City in Gyeonggi Province supports up to 100,000 won once a year for one subject among tests including TOEIC, TOEFL, English, Japanese, Chinese, French, German, Spanish, and Russian.