The cumulative number of people who took the Korean proficiency test has surpassed two million since the test was introduced in 1997. 
 
The National Institute for International Education under the Education Ministry said on Thursday that around two-point-12 million people took the Test of Proficiency in Korean(TOPIK) in the 55 rounds of the test so far.
 
The number of TOPIK test takers totaled 27-hundred in 1997, but surged to 290-thousand this year, thanks to the increasing popularity of Korean pop music and TV dramas. 
 
The TOPIK score is essential for foreign nationals to enter a Korean university or apply for a job here. The test has been held six times a year starting from 2015.
 
Currently, 73 countries around the world hold the test, up from four countries in 1997.