By analyzing the item difficulty of the sixth, seventh, and eighth Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK), this study will attempt to improve the test format. In order to improve the test format, this study will analyze the item difficulty of the sixth, seventh, and eighth Test of Proficiency in Korean (TOPIK). With an analysis of the item difficulty by level and by section, the following conclusions can be drawn. First, from an item analysis by level, we can see that (1) the reading section is difficult in the lower levels, (2) the vocabulary/grammar section increases in difficulty from the lower levels to the higher levels, and (3) the listening section is relatively easy for all levels. Second, from an item analysis by level, we can see that the exam passing rate follows the item difficulty for the lower levels. Third, from an item analysis by section, we detect a great imbalance in the ratio of low-difficulty items and high-diffulty items. Specifically, there are only a few high-difficulty items while the number of low-difficulty items nearly equals the number of medium-difficulty items. It should be noted that these results provide only a limtied picture of the TOPIK. As with all such analyses, this item difficulty could be due to the nature of the test takers, the test itself, or both. Therefore, we should continue our search for the cause and, moreover, strive to develop more suitable test items. (The International Korean Language Foundation)