.hwp

What is a .hwp file?

HWP is the standard document format in South Korea, used by Hancom Office's word processor for government and business documents.

Safe format
Type Document
By Hancom Inc.
MIME application/x-hwp

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What is it

If you work with Korean organisations, you will encounter HWP files. Hangul Word Processor is the dominant word processor in South Korea — more widely used than Microsoft Word in government, legal, and corporate settings. The Korean government has mandated its use for official documents. Military, courts, and civil service all run on HWP.

The format handles Korean typography (Hangul) with native precision that early versions of Word couldn't match, which is why it gained its dominant position. Modern Word handles Korean text fine, but decades of institutional inertia, existing templates, and government requirements keep HWP firmly in place.

Outside Korea, opening HWP is a challenge. Hancom Office (the full suite) is available internationally but requires a licence. LibreOffice has partial HWP support. Hancom's free online viewer (Hancom Docs) opens HWP in a browser. For occasional access, converting to PDF or DOCX using Hancom's online tools is the pragmatic solution.

Technical details
Full Name
Hangul Word Processor Document
MIME Type
application/x-hwp
Developer
Hancom Inc.
Magic Bytes
D0 CF 11 E0
Safety
.hwp is a known, safe format. Document file. Like DOC, HWP can contain macros — exercise caution with files from untrusted sources.
What opens it
Hancom Office
PAID Windows / Mac / Linux
LibreOffice (partial)
FREE Windows / Mac / Linux
Hancom Docs (online)
FREE Web
FAQ
How do I open HWP files outside South Korea?
LibreOffice has partial HWP support. Hancom Docs (online, free) opens HWP in a browser. For full editing, Hancom Office is available internationally. Converting to DOCX or PDF is often the easiest solution.
Why is HWP so common in South Korea?
Hancom Office's superior Korean typography support gave it dominance in the 1990s. Government mandates, institutional templates, and decades of documents in HWP format maintain that position.
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