What is an HWP file?
A file ending in .hwp arrived from Korea. Double-clicking it does nothing, or your computer asks which app to use and none of them work. Here is what the file is, and the quickest way to get at what is inside.
Short answer: .hwp is the file type of Hangul (한글), the word processor made by the Korean company Hancom. Most Korean government offices, a lot of schools and plenty of companies write their documents in it, much as the rest of the world uses Word. Outside Korea, almost nothing opens it out of the box.
You do not need to install Hancom Office to read one. If you only want to see the document, turning it into a PDF in your browser takes a few seconds. If you have to fill it in and send it back, you need something that can save HWP again. Both are covered below.
Open an HWP file in your browser
Where the format comes from
Hangul has been the default word processor of the Korean public sector for decades, and schools, universities and many companies that deal with public bodies use it too. For a long time, a document from a Korean office almost always meant an .hwp file. People who send them often have no idea the format is unusual abroad.
The .hwp files you receive today are almost always HWP 5.0. Hancom says the 5.x format has been in use from Hangul 2002 through Hangul 2014 and 2018, so a file from a recent Hangul and one from twenty years ago are the same kind of file. Much older files in HWP 3.0 still turn up now and then, but they are rare.
What is inside an .hwp file
HWP 5.0 is a binary format. Text, paragraph and character styles, tables and pictures are packed into one file as data that a program has to decode. It uses an old Microsoft structure called an OLE compound document. The specification is only partly published, so anyone outside Hancom who wanted to read HWP had to work much of it out themselves. That is the main reason so few programs support it.
HWP has a newer sibling, HWPX. It holds the same kind of document, written as XML files inside a ZIP, and its structure is a published Korean national standard (KS X 6101, also called OWPML). Since May 2026, document systems at Korean public institutions have been restricting .hwp attachments in favour of .hwpx, so you may receive either one.
| HWP | HWPX | |
|---|---|---|
| Extension | .hwp | .hwpx |
| Inside the file | One binary file (OLE compound document) | XML files inside a ZIP |
| Specification | Only partly published | A published national standard (KS X 6101, OWPML) |
 Hangul that opens it | Hangul 2002 and later (HWP 5.0) | Hangul 2010 SE+ and later |
| Where you see it | Older documents, many schools and companies | More and more public bodies since 2026 |
What is HWPX, and how is it different from HWP?
Why your computer will not open it
- Google Docs does not have .hwp on its list of files it can import, so uploading it to Drive does not help.
- Word does not open HWPX with its built-in features, and an open format does not mean every program has implemented it.
- On a Mac, Preview and the other built-in apps do not know the format at all.
- Renaming the file to .docx or .pdf changes the name, not the contents. The program you then try will still fail, usually with a message that the file is damaged.
The file is almost certainly fine. It is just written in a format your software was never built for.
How to open it, depending on what you need
| You need to | Without Hancom Office | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Read it or print it as it looks | Convert HWP to PDF in your browser | Hancom's fonts are replaced with free Korean fonts, but lines and pages stay where they were |
| Copy the text into a translator or an email | Convert to PDF and copy from it, or use HWPX to text for .hwpx files | The PDF keeps real text, so you can select and copy it |
| Fill in a form and send it back as HWP | Open it in the HWP editor and save as HWP or HWPX | Check the page count and tables before you send it |
| Pass it on as HWPX | Convert HWP to HWPX | The result is read back to confirm the page count |
Turn it into a PDF
The HWP to PDF converter takes HWP 5.0 and HWPX files, several at a time. A document engine runs in your browser, lays the pages out the way Hangul does, and writes them into a PDF. Tables, pictures, shapes, headers, footers and page numbers carry over, and the text stays selectable. The first run downloads the engine (about 8MB) and the Korean fonts, so it takes a moment. The file itself is not uploaded.
Edit it and save it back as HWP
The HWP editor opens HWP and HWPX in the browser, with menus in English that follow Hangul's own: File, Edit, View, Insert, Format, Page, Table and Tools. You can type into the document, change formatting and tables, then save as HWP, HWPX, or PDF through the print dialog. Hancom's own fonts are not included, so a line can break a little differently from the original. Reopen the saved file and check it before you send a form back.
Hancom's own software
Hancom offers a free viewer for Windows and Mac that shows and prints the document exactly as Hangul would, but cannot edit it. Hancom Docs, its web office, can be used with a free account, though the file goes into Hancom's cloud. If you work with HWP files every week, paying for Hangul is the sure answer. Our ranking of free options compares these and others side by side.
A word on uploading
HWP files are often official: notices, contracts, application forms with ID numbers. Most free HWP converters upload the file to their server, run the conversion there and send the result back. For a document that is not yours to share, that upload can be the problem. The tools on this site work the other way round: the engine comes to your browser and the file stays on your device.
Is it safe to upload work documents to an online converter?
Before you send one back
- Return it in the format it came in, unless you are told otherwise.
- Do not rename .hwpx to .hwp (or the other way) to get past an upload form. Convert it properly instead.
- Compare the page count with the original. If it changed, a table or a line has moved.
- If the recipient has Hangul, it does no harm to ask them to open it once and confirm it looks right.
Sometimes the fastest fix is to ask. If you only need to read a document, reply and ask for a PDF. Most offices are happy to send one.
Related reading
How to open HWP and HWPX files on a Mac
Got an HWP file from a Korean office, school or employer? How to read it
How to convert HWPX to PDF (and why Word cannot open it)
What is HWPX, and how is it different from HWP?
Converting HWP to PDF without Hancom Office
8 free HWP editors ranked: how far can you edit without Hancom?
Asked for an .hwp but you have an .hwpx? Converting it for submission
Common questions
- Can I open an HWP file in Word or Google Docs?
- Not with their built-in features. Google Docs does not import .hwp, and Word does not open HWPX. To read the document, convert it to PDF. To send it back as HWP, use an editor that saves HWP.
- Is an HWP file the same as an HWPX file?
- They are two file types from the same program, Hangul. They hold the same kind of document, stored in different ways. HWPX is the newer, open one, and it needs Hangul 2010 SE+ or later.
- My HWP file is password protected. Can I still convert it?
- Yes, if you know the password. The HWP to PDF converter shows a password box when a document needs one. Documents locked with company DRM cannot be opened.
- What about very old HWP files?
- Our tools read HWP 5.0 (Hangul 2002 and later) and HWPX. Older formats such as HWP 3.0 cannot be read. Open those once in Hancom Office and save them in the current format.
- Is EZPZ File made by Hancom?
- No. EZPZ File is not affiliated with Hancom. HWP and HWPX are Hancom's formats; our tools are built separately on the open-source rhwp document engine.
Last updated October 14, 2026 · Accurate as of October 2026. Hangul version support follows Hancom's official FAQ pages.
