Opening Korean Hangul (.hwp) Files on a Standard PC
The default word processor across Korea — and a mystery to most PCs elsewhere.
TL;DR
Hangul Word Processor .hwp files are the standard for Korean government and academic documents, but Word cannot open them. Legacy File Converter converts .hwp to DOCX or PDF on your PC. (.hwpx is a later Hancom ZIP/XML format; the app does not convert it yet.)
If you have received a contract, form, or paper from a Korean organization, there is a good chance it arrived as an .hwp file. Outside Korea, hardly any software opens them — and installing the original Hangul Office just to read one document is impractical.
Why HWP is hard to open
- Microsoft Word does not include an HWP import filter.
- The format is proprietary to Hancom’s Hangul Office.
- Online viewers may require uploading sensitive official documents.
Convert to a format you can read and edit
Add the HWP files
Drop in .hwp files, individually or by the folder.
Choose DOCX or PDF
DOCX to edit in Word, PDF to keep an exact copy of the layout.
Convert offline
Official and personal documents stay on your machine.
Summary
You do not need Korean office software to read a .hwp file. Convert it to DOCX or PDF and it opens in the tools you already use.
Related reading
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Windows 10 or 11
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