Lesson 9

TOPIK II Intermediate Vocabulary

Build the intermediate vocabulary needed for TOPIK II: society, environment, culture, and development.

TOPIK II vocabulary jumps significantly in abstract and topical terrain compared to TOPIK I. The exam draws heavily on themes: society (사회), environment (환경), culture (문화), economy (경제), education (교육), technology (기술), health (건강), and development (발전). Each theme has a recurring core vocabulary of 30–50 words that appear across multiple past exams.

A practical approach: pick one theme per week and absorb its core vocabulary using past TOPIK II reading passages on that theme. Read the passages until you can understand them without a dictionary, then practice the questions. This thematic-immersion method outperforms generic vocabulary lists by a wide margin because you learn the words in the syntactic patterns where they actually appear on the exam. Japanese speakers have a major advantage at this level — TOPIK II vocabulary leans heavily on Sino-Korean compounds that map directly onto Japanese 漢語.

-에 따라 (depending on / according to)

Expresses that a result varies depending on a condition. [noun] + 에 따라 + [result]. Frequently appears in TOPIK II reading passages on social and cultural topics.

문화에 따라 예절이 크게 다를 수 있어요.munhwae ddara yejeori keuge dareul su isseoyoEtiquette can differ greatly depending on the culture.

환경에 따라 사람의 성격이 달라지기도 해요.hwangyeonge ddara sarameui seonggyeogi dallajigi do haeyoA person's personality can also change depending on their environment.

-에 비해 (compared to)

Used to compare two things and show a difference. [noun] + 에 비해 + [result showing the difference]. Common in TOPIK II essays and analytical reading passages.

작년에 비해 올해 물가가 많이 올랐어요.jangnyeone bihe oleae mulgaga mani ollasseoyoPrices have risen a lot this year compared to last year.

기대에 비해 결과가 좋지 않아서 실망했어요.gidae bihe gyeolgwaga jochi anaseo silmanhaesseoyoCompared to expectations, the results were not good, so I was disappointed.

갈등galdeungconflict / tension

Examples직장 내 세대 간 갈등을 줄이려는 노력이 필요해요.jikjang nae sedae gan galdeungeul juriryeoneun noryeogi piryohaeyoEfforts to reduce generational conflict in the workplace are needed.

환경hwangyeongenvironment

Examples환경 오염을 막기 위해 일회용품 사용을 줄여야 해요.hwangyeong oyeomeul makgi wiehae irhoeyongpum sayongeul juryeoya haeyoTo prevent environmental pollution, we need to reduce the use of disposable items.

영향yeonghyanginfluence / effect / impact

Examples소셜미디어가 청소년의 가치관에 큰 영향을 미쳐요.sosyeolmidiaga cheongsonyeonui gachigwane keun yeonghyangeul michyeoyoSocial media has a great influence on teenagers' values.

발전baljeondevelopment / progress

Examples기술의 급격한 발전으로 일자리 구조가 변화하고 있어요.gisurui geupgyeokan baljeoneuro iljari gujoga byeonhwahago isseoyoDue to the rapid development of technology, the job structure is changing.

문화munhwaculture

Examples다양한 문화를 이해하면 서로 소통하기가 더 쉬워져요.dayanghan munhwareul ihaehammyeon seoro sotongagiga deo swiwojyeoyoUnderstanding diverse cultures makes it easier to communicate with each other.

사회sahoesociety

Examples현대 사회에서는 정보를 빨리 처리하는 능력이 중요해요.hyeondae sahoeeseoneun jeongboreul ppalli cheorihaneun neungnyeogi jungyohaeyoIn modern society, the ability to process information quickly is important.

Cultural & Language Note

TOPIK II vocabulary shifts to abstract and social domains — 갈등, 환경, 발전 — where Sino-Korean compounds dominate. This is exactly where Japanese speakers gain the most, since 葛藤, 環境, and 発展 are the same compounds with predictable sound correspondences. Learning the correspondence patterns unlocks large blocks of vocabulary at once.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

에 따라 and 에 비해 look similar but do one different thing each: 에 따라 means 'depending on', 에 비해 means 'compared to'. Both attach to nouns. Learners also assume every Sino-Korean word matches its Japanese counterpart in nuance, but some have drifted — check rather than assume for abstract terms.