If someone sent you a file ending in .hwp and it won't open, you're not alone. HWP is the native word-processor format of Hangul (한글), made by the South Korean company Hancom. It's extremely common for official paperwork, school forms, and job applications in Korea, but it isn't a format Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, or Google Docs understand out of the box. Here's how to view one and turn it into a universal PDF, without installing anything.
What is HWP, and why won't it open?
HWP (and its newer version, HWPX) is Hancom's own document format, built for its Hangul word processor — the Korean-market equivalent of Microsoft Word, and still the standard for many Korean government agencies, schools, and companies. Because it's a proprietary format rather than something like .docx, a PC or Mac without Hancom's software or a compatible viewer generally can't open it at all.
Option 1: Open it and save as PDF right in your browser
- Open the HWP Viewer & HWP to PDF tool.
- Drag in your .hwp (or .hwpx) file.
- The document content appears right in your browser.
- Click Save as PDF to download a PDF anyone can open.
Since nothing needs installing, this is the fastest option when you just need to check the content or hand it off to someone else as a PDF.
Option 2: Install the official Hancom Office Viewer (free)
Hancom offers a free Hancom Office Viewer for personal, non-commercial use, downloadable from its official site. Besides Hangul (HWP), Hancel, and Hanshow files, it also opens Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents. If you deal with HWP files often, installing this once is more convenient long-term. (Hancom Office Viewer official download page, checked: 2026-10-04)
Option 3: Online viewers like Naver Office or Hancom Docs
Web services such as Naver Office or Hancom Docs let you upload an HWP file to view it in a browser. Because these services require uploading the file to a server, consider a method that doesn't require uploading first if the document contains personal or sensitive information.
Does Microsoft Word open HWP files?
Word doesn't support the HWP format natively. Hancom does publish a "Hangul document compatibility" add-in, distributed through Microsoft's official download channels in some regions, that lets Word open HWP files directly. Without that add-in, trying to open an HWP file in Word will fail or show garbled content.
Common problems
- Tables or images look broken: documents with complex tables, equations, or unusual fonts can shift slightly during conversion. Always check the converted PDF once for anything important.
- It's HWPX and still won't open: HWPX is just the newer version of the format. Dagochim's tool supports it the same way.
- The file is password-protected: a password-protected HWP needs to be opened with the password in Hancom Office or a compatible viewer first.
Is my data safe?
Yes. Dagochim's HWP viewer and converter never uploads your document to a server — everything opens and converts inside this browser tab. Only the conversion engine itself is downloaded once; your document's actual content is never transmitted.
Which method should you pick?
If you just need to open an HWP file once or twice, a no-install browser tool like Dagochim is the fastest route. If HWP files are a regular part of your work (dealing with Korean partners, schools, or agencies, for example), installing the Hancom Office Viewer is worth it long-term.
Need to go the other direction?
If you've converted to PDF and later need an editable HWP file again, use the PDF to HWP tool. It pulls real text directly out of text-based PDFs, and runs OCR (text recognition) on scanned PDFs to turn them back into an editable document.
Opening HWP on a phone
Both Android and iPhone have free Hancom Office apps (including the viewer) available on their respective app stores. If you're away from a computer, the same browser-based conversion works on a phone too.
If you regularly receive HWP files, it's a good habit to save a PDF copy in the same folder as soon as you get one — that way you can check the contents later even on a device without Hancom Office installed. Korean public agencies and schools lean so heavily on HWP because Hancom Office has long been the standard word processor across much of Korea's public administration and education sector, so knowing this conversion trick comes in handy more often than you'd expect if you deal with Korean documents at all.
Working with Korean colleagues, schools, or partners
If you deal with Korean businesses, universities, or government offices even occasionally, you'll likely run into HWP files more than once. Rather than installing Hancom Office just for a single document, it's often faster to use a browser-based viewer the first time, then decide whether installing the full software makes sense based on how often HWP files keep showing up in your inbox.
Sharing the converted file internationally
Once you've converted an HWP file to PDF, it becomes something literally anyone can open, on any device, without needing any Korean-specific software at all. This matters especially for cross-border teams: a PDF forwarded to a colleague outside Korea opens instantly in any browser or PDF reader, while the original HWP file would have left them stuck exactly where you started.
A quick note on fonts
HWP documents sometimes use Korean-specific fonts that aren't installed on every system. When that happens, a viewer or conversion tool may substitute a similar-looking font automatically, which can shift line breaks or spacing slightly compared to how the document looked on the original author's computer. This is rarely a problem for reading the content, but if exact formatting matters (a form with precisely aligned fields, for instance), it's worth a quick visual check after converting.
Frequently asked questions
Is the official Hangul viewer really free?
Yes. Hancom provides a free viewer for personal, non-commercial use from its official site. Businesses and organizations need separate licensing from Hancom.
Can I convert HWP to a Word (.docx) file instead?
This tool converts to PDF. To get a Word file, open the document in Hancom Office and use Save As, choosing docx as the format.
Does this work with HWPX files too?
Yes — HWPX, the newer version of the format, opens and converts the same way.