Key features
Sound changes applied
Applies the rules of Chapter 3, Article 1, including consonant assimilation, palatalization, aspiration and ㄹㄹ → ll, and does not write tensed consonants, as the regulation requires.
Four modes
Handles general words, personal names (surname and given name split, no sound changes inside names), addresses (hyphens before administrative units, road names) and passport names (uppercase) separately.
Multi-line batch conversion
Paste a list of names or an address book and each line is converted separately. Copy one line at a time or everything at once.
Syllable-by-syllable mapping
Click a result line to see which syllable became which letters and which rule applied, syllable by syllable.
Customary surname spellings
Shows the official spelling, such as 김 Gim, next to widely used customary spellings like Kim, Lee and Park.
Processed only in your browser
Names and addresses are never sent to a server. Conversion keeps working even if you go offline.
How to use
- Pick a mode from the tabs at the top: 'General' for ordinary words and place names, 'Name' for people's names, 'Address' for addresses, and 'Passport name' for a passport application.
- Type or paste Hangul in the left box, one item per line. The result appears on the right instantly.
- Change the options if needed: capitalization, the hyphen to avoid confusion, noun or verb/adjective, the given-name hyphen, the road-name hyphen and more.
- Click a result line to see the syllable mapping and the rules applied below it. Use the copy buttons to copy one line or everything.
Accuracy and limits
The Romanization of Korean is based on standard pronunciation, and standard pronunciation depends on a word's part of speech and how it is compounded. This tool is not a morphological analyzer, so please double-check the result in the following cases.
- ㄴ insertion (학여울 [항녀울], 알약 [알략]) is handled by a dictionary covering only the official examples and about 50 common words. For compounds not in the dictionary, type the word as it is pronounced and it will convert correctly.
- For ㅎ after ㄱ·ㄷ·ㅂ, 'Auto-detect' guesses whether the word is a verb/adjective or a noun from endings and affixes such as -히- and -하-. Because the guess can be wrong (e.g. 백합꽃), the options let you choose noun or verb/adjective yourself.
- Tensing (sounds becoming 'hard' consonants) is not written, per the regulation (압구정 Apgujeong). Even if it looks different from what you hear, it is the correct spelling under the rules.
- Personal, company and organization names may keep the spelling they have been using (Chapter 3, Article 7). If a spelling already appears on your passport or official documents, use that one first.
Frequently asked questions
Why is 종로 written Jongno and not Jongro?
The Romanization of Korean writes standard pronunciation, not spelling. In 종로, the ㄹ after the final ㅇ changes to ㄴ, so it is pronounced [종노] and written Jongno. It is also an official example in Chapter 3, Article 1 of the regulation.
압구정 is pronounced [압꾸정], so why is it Apgujeong?
Because the regulation says tensing is not reflected in romanization (Chapter 3, Article 1, Note). 낙동강 Nakdonggang and 울산 Ulsan also leave out tensed sounds for the same reason.
My name 복남 is pronounced [봉남]. Is Bongnam correct?
No. Sound changes that occur within a given name are not reflected in romanization (Chapter 3, Article 4). 한복남 is written Han Boknam (or Han Bok-nam).
Is 김 Gim or Kim?
Under the romanization table it is Gim, but the regulation says surname spellings are to be set separately, and no official spelling has been finalized yet. In practice Kim is overwhelmingly common. Turn on 'Customary surname spelling' in Name mode to output common customary spellings such as Kim, Lee and Park.
Can I use this result for the English name on my passport?
In principle, a Korean passport romanizes the Hangul name in the Family Relationship Register syllable by syllable, which matches this tool's name rule. However, once issued, a romanized name can only be changed for reasons set by law, so if you have already used a spelling on a previous passport, a foreign degree or a visa, match that. For the final decision, follow the issuing authority's guidance.
Do I have to put a hyphen before 구 and 동 in an address?
Yes. A hyphen goes before the administrative units do, si, gun, gu, eup, myeon, ri, dong and ga (Chapter 3, Article 5). Write 도봉구 Dobong-gu and 당산동 Dangsan-dong; sound changes across the hyphen are not reflected.
Are the names or addresses I type stored?
No. All conversion is done by JavaScript inside your browser, and nothing you type is sent anywhere. Only your chosen mode and options are kept in this device's browser storage.
Governing regulation
Romanization of Korean (「국어의 로마자 표기법」), Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism Notice No. 2014-42 (5 Dec 2014), full text on the National Institute of Korean Language website. The passport guidance refers to the 'rules for romanized names' on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs passport information site. Checked as of 2026-09-23.