Korean translation: what to know

What the job involves, what changes the price, and what to ask a pro.

What korean translation is

A Korean translator converts documents between English and Korean, choosing the right speech level and terminology for business, legal or personal use. Korean uses speech levels that show the relationship between speaker and reader, so the translator needs to know who will read the document and why.

Signs you need it

  • Your readers are in South Korea, and you need a document that uses the speech level their business or official setting expects.
  • You have a contract, certificate or notice that must be read in Korean with exact terms.
  • You are publishing a website, product guide or course in Korean and want the wording to sound natural.
  • You have a Korean document that must be read in English for a business, legal or personal purpose.
  • A machine translation has used a speech level that is too casual or too formal for the document.
  • You need a document for a Korean partner or official office where terminology matters.

What the pro does

  • Confirms the readers, the purpose and the speech level the document needs.
  • Builds a glossary of names, product terms and titles, with the Korean form of each.
  • Translates the text using the terminology your field uses, rather than literal word choices.
  • Adjusts the sentence structure, since Korean puts the verb at the end and uses different word order from English.
  • Reviews the translation for natural phrasing, then returns the file with notes on choices to approve.

What changes the price

Every job is different, so we do not publish prices. These are the things that move the quote up or down.

  • Word count or page count, and the number of documents.
  • Speech level and register needed, such as a formal business document or a personal message.
  • Subject complexity, such as legal, medical, technical or marketing text.
  • Formatting, such as tables, forms or design files.
  • Whether a second reviewer checks the Korean text.
  • Deadline for delivery.

What a written quote should spell out

  • The word count or page count, and the language direction.
  • The speech level and register the translation uses.
  • The glossary step, and who approves the terms.
  • Whether a second review is included.
  • The file format returned, and whether the layout is recreated.

Questions to ask before you hire

  • Who will read the Korean text, and what speech level do they expect?
  • Will you use the Korean terms that a specific industry uses?
  • How do you handle names of people, places and products?
  • Will a second person review the Korean text?
  • Can you keep the layout of my forms or tables?
  • Can you show a sample passage on a subject like mine?

Red flags

  • Uses one speech level for every document without asking the purpose.
  • Writes names in different forms through the same document.
  • Changes names, dates or figures in the translation.
  • Sends a machine translation with no human review and presents it as professional work.
  • Cannot explain the speech level or the terms chosen.

What you can do yourself

You can list the readers, the names and terms that must stay the same, and whether the document is formal or personal, then have a Korean speaker read a draft. Hire a translator when the document is official, will be published or sent to customers, or contains legal, medical or technical terms where one wrong word changes the meaning.

Licenses and permits

Korean translation is not commonly licensed, so a license is usually not required for this work. Check with the office or organization that will receive the document, since some set their own rules for accepted translations, and ask the translator for Korean samples in your subject as proof of skill.

Korean translation questions

What is a speech level?

Speech level is the form of Korean used to show the relationship between the speaker and the reader, such as formal, polite or casual. Documents for business or official use usually need a formal or polite level, so tell the translator who will read it.

Should I use Korean terms or English terms?

Use the terms your readers expect in their field. Some industries use Korean terms and others keep English words. Ask the translator to list the terms they chose and why.

How are names handled?

Korean names are often written in Hangul with a romanized form for foreign readers. Agree the form for each name in the glossary before translating.

Pro reviewers

Pros who offer korean translation remotely can improve this guide, like Wikipedia. We check every edit before it goes live. Every approved edit is credited in the edit history and on the pro's profile.

Edit history

How guide reviews work

How it works

  1. 1. Describe the job

    Pick the service, add your ZIP and a sentence about what is going on.

  2. 2. Pick the pros you want

    See pros who serve your ZIP and choose who you want to hear from.

  3. 3. They reach out

    They contact you the way you chose: phone, email or in-app messages.

More writing, editing and translation guides

Find a pro near you

Find a pro

About this guide

Request korean translation