Tiny earpieces, proxy takers: Topik cheating services thrive despite crackdown

Cheating services offering rice-grain-sized earpieces and proxy test-takers for the Test of Proficiency in Korean (Topik) remain rampant in both Korea and China, despite a crackdown by the authorities.

The Topik is required for many foreign nationals seeking visas or academic degrees in Korea.

Four China-based cheating services replied within an hour when the JoongAng Ilbo contacted them through the messaging app WeChat. Most guaranteed that clients “could cheat without being caught.”

The services offered two main methods: using tiny earpieces and other transmitting and receiving devices, or paying a proxy to sit for the exam under the client’s name.

“The answers start coming through the earpiece in real time about 20 minutes into the test,” one service said. “The earpiece is made of a special material and is about the size of a grain of rice. It can get past metal detectors.”

For the proxy method, the services said they pay off test centers and proctors with whom they have established relationships.

They recommended using the ear pieces at test centers in Korea, where they claimed that body-and-belongings checks are relatively lax, and proxy test-takers at centers in China.

One service quoted 20,000 yuan ($2,980) for device-assisted cheating and 28,000 yuan for hiring a proxy test-taker.

For proxy testing, the price could rise depending on the target level, from Level 3 to Level 6, with higher levels costing more. The services also promised a full refund if clients failed to achieve their target score.

Providers also reportedly offer cheating services for several other major international exams.

The businesses have continued to openly solicit customers despite crackdowns by police and the Korean Ministry of Education.

In July, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's international crime investigation unit announced that it had busted more than 110 people in a major Topik cheating operation.

However, the services cited the police announcement while promoting measures they claimed could circumvent the stepped-up enforcement.

During the 105th Topik in April, a group was caught at a test site after exploiting time differences between countries to post answers from an earlier exam on social media. The Education Ministry responded by introducing measures in May to prevent test papers used in different countries from containing similar questions.

Despite the tighter safeguards, the services claimed their operations would not be affected.

“We have test centers in China that we have worked with for years, so the crackdown on schemes exploiting time differences doesn’t affect us,” one service said.

The service also recruited customers by posting a score report from a Chinese student who took the test in Korea in July. Social media posts included purported customer testimonials. “I was extremely nervous about failing or getting caught, but I’m glad I trusted them,” one read.

Calls are growing for stronger safeguards against cheating as the number of Topik applicants increases. The test, launched in 1997, drew 490,000 applicants in 2024 and surpassed 500,000 for the first time last year.

A total of 258 people were barred from taking Topik for four years after they were caught hiring or acting as proxy test-takers between 2022 and September this year, according to Education Ministry data obtained by People Power Party Rep. Jung Sung-kook.

“If the integrity of Topik is compromised, it could undermine trust in Korea's broader education and employment systems,” Rep. Jung said. “As cheating methods become increasingly sophisticated, fundamental measures are needed to address the problem.”

BY HAN CHAN-WOO [[email protected]]