HWP to DOCX Converter
Open a Korean Hangul document without installing Hancom Office. The converter rewrites .hwp and .hwpx files as Word DOCX, keeping the Korean text, tables, images and page layout editable.
Document Converter
or drop PDF, DOC, DOCX … files here ·
Max 95 MB per file· Up to 20 files· Deleted after 30 minutes
Files are processed on our servers and deleted after 30 minutes.
150 DPI turns an A4 page into about 1240 × 1754 px. Use 300 for printing.
Convert the whole file or only some pages or slides (PDF and presentation input).
Pages or slides to convert, e.g. 1-3, 5, 8-10.
UTF-8 works for every language. Choose UTF-8 with BOM if Excel or Notepad on Windows shows garbled characters; legacy encodings only for old software.
LF for macOS, Linux and code editors; CRLF for older Windows programs such as classic Notepad.
Comma is standard. Use semicolon for Excel in countries that write decimals with a comma (Germany, France, Brazil).
Excel input with several sheets: convert all of them (one section or file per sheet) or only the first.
How to use this tool
- 1
Add the Hangul files
Drop .hwp or .hwpx files on the upload area, up to 20 at once and 95 MB each. You do not need Hangul installed.
- 2
Check the settings
Convert to is DOCX (Word) and Formatting is Keep all. Turn on Include comments if the reviewer's memos in the HWP should come across.
- 3
Convert and edit
Press Convert to DOCX (Word) and open the file in Word, Google Docs, Pages or LibreOffice Writer.
How do I open an HWP file in Word?
Convert it first. Upload the .hwp or .hwpx file, press Convert to DOCX (Word) and open the downloaded DOCX in Word, Google Docs or Pages with the Korean text and tables intact.
What an HWP file is and where it comes from
HWP is the native format of Hangul, the word processor from Hancom that is to Korean offices what Word is to most others. Korean ministries, local governments, schools and universities have written their notices, forms and reports in it for decades, so an .hwp attachment is the normal way a Korean organization sends a document.
Outside Korea almost nobody has Hangul installed. Word and Pages cannot open HWP, so a supplier invited to a tender, a researcher reading a Korean ministry report or a recruiter receiving a résumé ends up with a file icon nothing will open. Converting rewrites the content into DOCX, which every mainstream word processor reads. When you only need to print or archive the document, HWP to PDF gives a fixed copy instead.
1989
Hangul 1.0
The first version of the word processor is released for DOS PCs.
1990
Hancom is founded
The company behind Hangul is set up and keeps developing the format.
HWP 5.0
The binary format in wide use
Stores the document in a compound-file container, the structure Word 97–2003 used for .doc.
HWPX
XML package
An open, XML-based alternative standardized in Korea as KS X 6101, zipped like DOCX.
Programs that need DOCX instead of HWP
| Organisation | Requirement | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Word (Windows, Mac) | Opens and edits DOCX natively; has no HWP reader. | Microsoft Word |
| Google Docs | Edits an uploaded DOCX directly in the browser. | Google Docs |
| Apple Pages | Imports DOCX and exports back to Word format. | Apple Pages |
| Journal and grant portals abroad | Typically ask for manuscripts as Word files or PDF. | — |
HWP
Hangul Word Processor document
HWP is the document format of Hangul (Hancom Office), a word processor developed by Hancom in South Korea since 1989. It is the standard for Korean government agencies, schools and many companies, and it handles Korean typography and complex forms well. Outside Korea it is rarely supported: Microsoft Word, Google Docs and most viewers cannot open it without a converter or Hancom's free viewer. Hancom has published the format specification, and a newer XML-based variant is called HWPX.
- Compression
- –
- Transparency
- –
- Animation
- –
- Introduced
- 1989 · Hancom
DOCX
Microsoft Word document
DOCX is Microsoft Word's default document format since Office 2007, based on the Office Open XML standard (ECMA-376, ISO/IEC 29500). It is a ZIP package of XML files holding text, styles, images, tables, comments and tracked changes. It is the most common format for editable documents in offices, schools and job applications. Layout can shift slightly between Word, Google Docs, LibreOffice and Pages, especially with complex formatting. Most word processors open DOCX files.
- Compression
- –
- Transparency
- –
- Animation
- –
- Introduced
- 2007 · Microsoft
HWP files go to DOCX when a Korean document leaves the Hangul world: a foreign partner reviewing a government tender, a researcher abroad reading a Korean report, or a student whose overseas university works only in Word.
Keeping the Hangul layout in Word
What carries over and what to check
- Korean text survives completely because DOCX stores Unicode.
- Tables, including the dense form tables of government documents, stay editable tables.
- Fonts are the main source of layout drift; install the original font or pick a standard one.
- Comments come across only with Include comments switched on.
- Both .hwp and .hwpx are accepted in one batch.
- Keep the original HWP; it is the reference if a reviewer disputes the layout.
Most HWP documents follow the A4 page and generous margins standard in Korea, which Word keeps after conversion. If you print on US Letter paper, check the last line of each page, since Letter is slightly shorter than A4. For older Word files you collect along the way, DOC to DOCX brings them to the same format.
Questions about converting Hangul files to Word
Why does Word refuse to open my .hwp file?
HWP is Hancom's own format, and Word for Windows and Mac does not read it. The file is not damaged; it simply needs converting to a format Word understands, which is what this page does.
Are .hwpx files supported as well?
Yes. HWPX, the XML-based format newer Hangul versions can save, is accepted in the same upload and converted the same way.
Will the Korean text display correctly in Word?
The text is stored as Unicode in the DOCX, so every Hangul syllable survives. What can change is the font: if the document used a Hancom font you do not have, Word substitutes one, such as Batang or Malgun Gothic on Windows, and line breaks can shift slightly.
What happens to footnotes, page numbers and text boxes?
They become their Word equivalents: footnotes stay footnotes, page numbers become header or footer fields and text boxes stay positioned boxes. Check decorative frames and stamps, which have no exact Word counterpart.
Should I send the edited file back as DOCX or HWP?
Ask the person who sent it. Many Korean offices accept DOCX or PDF, but a form that has to be filed in its original format can go back through PDF to HWP once you have exported your finished version as PDF.
