HWP to PDF
A notice from a Korean school, a ministry form or a contract from a Korean partner often arrives as an .hwp file that Windows, macOS and phones cannot open. Convert it to PDF here and the Hangul text, tables and A4 layout appear as the sender saw them.
Convert to PDF
or drop DOC, DOCX, DOCM … 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.
Convert the whole document or only some pages, slides or sheets.
Pages or slides to keep, e.g. 1-3, 5, 8-10. Numbers refer to the original document.
Source margins keep the document's own layout. Narrow is 12.7 mm, normal 25.4 mm, wide 50.8 mm left and right.
Excel, ODS and Numbers files: convert every sheet, or only the one that was open when the file was saved.
JPEG quality for photos inside the document. 90 looks identical to the source; lower it to make the PDF smaller.
Leave empty for no password. If set, the PDF asks for it before opening. Not available with PDF/A.
How to use this tool
- 1
Add the HWP or HWPX files
Drop .hwp files or the newer XML-based .hwpx. Up to 20 documents of 95 MB each fit in one batch.
- 2
Leave fonts embedded
Embed fonts is already on, which stores the Korean typefaces inside the PDF. Open Advanced settings only if you want a Page range or an Open password.
- 3
Press Convert to PDF
Download each PDF, or all of them as a ZIP. Uploaded files are deleted from the server after 30 minutes.
What an HWP file is and who sends one
An .hwp file comes from Hangul (한글), the word processor in Hancom Office. It first shipped in 1989, before Microsoft Word had a usable Korean version, and it became the standard document tool in Korean public administration, public schools and many universities. Admission guides, scholarship forms, school newsletters, visa invitation letters from Korean institutions and municipal notices are routinely written and distributed in it.
That is why people outside Korea meet the format unexpectedly: an exchange student receives a dormitory form, a parent abroad gets a school notice, a supplier is sent a contract draft. Word, Google Docs and phone viewers show nothing useful. A PDF solves the reading problem in one step and keeps the ruled tables, stamps and fixed line breaks of an official document.
To edit the text rather than read it, use HWP to DOCX instead.
HWP vs HWPX: both convert to PDF
HWP 5.0 binary
The classic binary format, built on a compound-file container like old .doc files. Hancom has published its specification.
- What most archived forms and notices use
- Read by every Hancom Office version still in use
- Only partly supported by third-party editors
HWPX (OWPML)
An XML format in a ZIP package, built on OWPML, which became the Korean national standard KS X 6101.
- Readable structure, like DOCX or ODT
- Increasingly used by public bodies
- Same text, tables and layout as HWP
Korean fonts in the converted PDF
| Font in the HWP | Where you see it | In the PDF |
|---|---|---|
| 함초롬바탕 (HCR Batang) | Body text; a default in recent Hangul versions | Embedded as used, so line breaks match |
| 함초롬돋움 (HCR Dotum) | Headings, table cells | Embedded as used |
| 휴먼명조, HY헤드라인M | Government reports and titles | Embedded when available, otherwise a close Korean serif or gothic face |
| 맑은 고딕 (Malgun Gothic) | Documents written on Windows | Embedded as used |
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
Portable Document Format
PDF was created by Adobe in 1993 and became the open ISO 32000 standard in 2008. It fixes text, fonts, images and layout so a document looks the same on every screen and printer. PDFs can contain forms, signatures, links, attachments and searchable text, and the PDF/A variant is used for long-term archiving. The fixed layout makes PDFs hard to edit, and scanned PDFs contain only images unless OCR is applied. Every browser and operating system can open them.
- Compression
- –
- Transparency
- Yes
- Animation
- No
- Introduced
- 1993 · Adobe
HWP opens reliably only in Hancom's own software, so anyone outside Korea, or on a phone, needs a PDF to read, print or forward a Hangul document without installing Hancom Office.
When the HWP to PDF result looks different
A table runs onto an extra page
A font in the original was replaced by one with slightly wider letters. If the sender can, ask them to save a PDF from Hangul directly; otherwise use Page range to skip the empty spillover page.
Text appears as boxes or question marks
The file is probably not a real HWP, for example a renamed web page or a damaged download. Ask for the file again or for an .hwpx copy.
The PDF is much larger than expected
Scanned pages and photos inside the document dominate the size. Lower Image quality to about 70, or shrink the result afterwards with compress PDF.
HWP to PDF questions
Why can't my computer open an .hwp attachment?
HWP is the native format of Hangul, Hancom's word processor, and neither Windows, macOS, Word nor Google Docs reads it out of the box. Outside Korea almost nobody has Hancom Office installed, so the file stays unreadable until it is converted.
Will the Korean characters show up in the PDF on a computer without Korean fonts?
Yes. With Embed fonts on, the typefaces used for the Hangul text are stored inside the PDF, so a laptop in Germany or a phone set to English displays the same glyphs. You do not need to install a Korean language pack to read or print it.
Can I fill in a Korean government form after converting it?
Not as typed text in the original boxes, because a PDF is a fixed page. Print it and write by hand, or convert with HWP to DOCX, type into the tables in Word and make a PDF from that.
Does Hancom offer a free way to view HWP files?
Hancom offers a free viewer for Windows and viewer apps for phones, and Hangul itself can save any document as a PDF. Converting here is quicker when you only need to read, print or forward a file or two.
The document has a stamp or seal image. Is it kept?
Yes. Images placed in the HWP, including scanned seals (dojang) and logos, keep their position on the page, and Image quality at 90 keeps them sharp for printing.
How do I send the result back to a Korean office that expects HWP?
Portals often accept a PDF for read-only submissions, but an office that keeps editing will want HWP. Convert your reply with PDF to HWP, or ask whether DOCX is fine.
- HWP to DOCX ConverterConvert HWP and HWPX files from Hancom Hangul to DOCX for Word, Google Docs and Pages. Korean text, tables and images stay editable. Up to 20 files.
- PDF to HWP ConverterConvert PDF to HWP so the document opens and edits in Hancom Hangul. Text, tables and images are rebuilt; scanned PDFs are read with OCR. No account.
- DOCX to PDFFree DOCX to PDF converter for resumes, court filings and grant forms. Removes hidden author data, embeds fonts and keeps text searchable for upload portals.
- ODT to PDFTurn OpenDocument Text files from LibreOffice, OpenOffice or Google Docs into PDF. Headings become bookmarks and fonts are embedded. No install, no account.
- Word to PDF ConverterConvert Microsoft Word documents to PDF online for free. Fonts embedded, headings become bookmarks, comments left out. Up to 20 files, deleted after 30 minutes.