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Korean translations - Certified Korean German translator for documents

Languages › Korean

Korean Translation Services — Korean ⇄ German.

Korean translation services deliver certified German ⇄ Korean documents in Hangul, produced by sworn, court-authorised translators for authorities and courts here. A German Regional Court (Landgericht) publicly appoints each translator, so registry offices, the Ausländerbehörde and university admissions accept the certification in one step. Name romanisation is matched to your passport and the honorific register kept correct. Standard-line pricing starts from €1.09.

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Native Korean specialists · Hangul & Hanja handled correctly · certified translations recognised by German authorities

DIN EN ISO 17100registered · Reg. 7U517
한글 · Hangulnames matched to passport
Price up frontbinding fixed price
ConfidentialGDPR-compliant · NDA on request

Short & clear

Certified Korean translations by sworn, native-speaker translators.

Reviewed by specialists · FÜD editorial team · kept current

Korean is written in Hangul, an alphabet set in syllable blocks, and in it two things decide acceptance: the honorific register and the spelling of a name. Whether it is a family-register extract for a German registry office, a diploma for recognition, a supply contract with a partner in Seoul, or documentation for an English-language project: the work is done by native Korean specialists with a proven field — into standard South Korean, in the register the document actually calls for.

We work in both directions and both pairings. Korean ⇄ German is what German authorities, courts and local partners need — including certified translations and passport-matched romanisation of names. Korean ⇄ English covers international life in Germany: applications, employer paperwork, contracts and documentation that circulate in English.

Who it's for

Living in Germany, thinking in more than one language.

Most people who search for this in English are already fluent Korean speakers dealing with a German system — or internationals who use English as the working language. Both are covered.

Korean → German, for the authorities

Family-register extracts, birth, marriage and name-change certificates, diplomas and police records for a registry office (Standesamt), the immigration office or recognition of qualifications. Issued in Hangul, they need a certified German translation with the name romanised exactly as in your passport.

Korean ⇄ English, for international life

Job applications, employment contracts, references and company documents that your employer, university or a partner abroad expects in English rather than German. Same specialists, same care with the script, register and terminology.

German → Korean, for home

German certificates, contracts, powers of attorney and rulings that have to be presented to authorities, courts or family in South Korea — in standard South Korean, in the formal register that official use requires.

Business across the three

Companies trading with Seoul, or teams that run in English while the paperwork is German or Korean — electronics, automotive, machinery and their contracts and technical documentation. We assign a specialist for the direction and field you actually need.

Language & script

Hangul, honorific levels and passport names — where the difficulty sits.

Korean is written in Hangul (한글), a featural alphabet whose letters are combined into syllable blocks; for names and legal terms, older documents sometimes add Hanja (Chinese characters, 漢字) to disambiguate. The decisive feature is the honorific system: politeness is marked at the verb ending — formal -습니다 (하십시오체), polite -요, plain (panmal). Official and business texts require the formal register; the wrong level reads as inappropriate. Separately there is name romanisation: the Revised Romanization of 2000 is official, but passports often follow the older McCune–Reischauer form or an individual spelling. We fix the register and match names to the ID, not to the "nicer" transcription.

For official use, an authorised translator issues a certified translation recognised by German authorities and courts; whether a Korean document additionally needs an apostille is something we check in advance — it is issued by the competent authority, not by the translation agency.

Quality you only notice at the receiving end

What only a native Korean specialist catches.

Korean and German are separated by script, grammar, an honorific system and a way of writing names. The dangerous errors are not typos — they arise inside those systems and only surface at the receiving end. These pitfalls separate a native professional translation from a literal one. Each is specific to Korean and demonstrable.

Typical pitfalls in Korean translation and how a specialist resolves them
PitfallWhy it goes wrongHow the FÜD solves it
Romanisation: Revised (2000) vs McCune–ReischauerSince 2000 the Revised Romanization is official, yet passports often keep the older McCune–Reischauer form or an individual spelling (이 = Lee/Yi/Rhee, 박 = Park/Bak, 김 = Kim/Gim). A "correct" but passport-divergent transcription turns the name into a different one — and passport names can hardly be changed.We copy the passport spelling exactly and add the Revised Romanization only as an explanation, never a diverging one.
Name order (surname first)In 김민준, 김 (Kim) is the surname and 민준 the given name. Assume the Western order and you swap first and last name across passport, diploma and contract.Name order is checked against the ID and marked unambiguously in the target language — no guesswork.
Honorific level at the verb ending (-습니다)Korean marks politeness on the verb: formal -습니다 (하십시오체), polite -요, plain (panmal). An official or business text in the wrong register reads as disrespectful or too familiar.We set the register appropriate to document type and addressee — for authorities and business, the formal level throughout.
Word spacing (띄어쓰기) wrongUnlike Chinese or Japanese, Korean separates words with spaces, under complex rules. Wrong spacing degrades readability and can shift meaning; any native reader notices it at once.We apply the 띄어쓰기 rules correctly — an unmistakable quality marker where amateur translation fails.
Particles (조사) instead of cases and articlesGrammatical role sits in attached particles (은/는, 이/가, 을/를), and Korean has no articles. Carry German sentence structure with articles across and you produce ungrammatical, wooden sentences.The specialist builds the sentence with correct particles and Korean word order, not a German structure.
Hanja in older family-register documentsTo disambiguate names and legal terms, some documents carry Hanja (Chinese characters); older family-register records (호적) contain them routinely. Ignore them and you lose meaning or confuse identically pronounced names.We read Hanja correctly, assign the right reading and render them unambiguously — especially in names and legal terms.
North vs South Korean standardNorth and South have diverged in orthography, spacing and vocabulary (Munhwaeo vs Pyojuneo). Material in the wrong standard misses the norm that German authorities and partners in Seoul expect.We translate exclusively into standard South Korean (Pyojuneo) and keep it cleanly apart from Northern usage.

Why a dictionary and "some Korean" won't do here

None of these is a typo — most survive any spell-check, because each character is correct in itself. They arise in the honorific system, the particles, the name spelling and the standard-language question, and they only surface at the receiving end: the registry office, the business partner in Seoul, the HR department. That is exactly where native professional translation with a field and a sure register earns its place.

Whether Lee or I — the name is decided by the passport, not the rule.

So: native speakers with a field, a sure register, and passport-matched romanisation.

Certification & recognition

"Authorised", "certified", "notarised" — what counts where.

Reviewed by specialists · FÜD editorial team · kept current

For submission to German authorities and courts, a court-authorised translator (in German, ermächtigter Übersetzer, publicly authorised under German state law) produces a certified translation with stamp, signature and certification note — recognised nationwide. The pitfall with Korean documents lies in the name: the Revised Romanization has been official since 2000, but passports often follow the older McCune–Reischauer form. We set the spelling by the ID, not by the norm.

For the other direction — German documents going to Korea — the appropriate honorific register matters, and, depending on the authority, an apostille: the Republic of Korea is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention (in force since 2007), with the apostille issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We clarify before the project which country the document is for and follow FÜD's documented quality process; a separate second-person revision is included where it forms part of the agreed service scope (see DIN EN ISO 17100). The apostille itself is issued by the competent authority — the FÜD does not issue apostilles.

Use cases

Korean to German translation: three typical cases from practice.

Document type, addressee and name spelling decide the register, terminology and form of certification. Three common jobs — from the starting point to the result.

Registry office & family

Family register & certificate Korean → German

Starting point
For a marriage or naturalisation, a Korean family-register extract or civil-status certificate is needed in German — issued in Hangul, the name sometimes with Hanja.
Process
An authorised translator renders the record, reads any Hanja correctly, romanises the name by the passport spelling and adds the certification note.
Result
A certified translation the registry office accepts, its name spelling identical to the ID — no follow-up query.

Careers in English

Diploma & CV Korean → English

Starting point
A professional from South Korea applies to an international employer or programme in Germany that works in English, and needs a diploma, transcript and CV rendered accurately.
Process
Degrees, subjects and grades stay in the original with an explanatory equivalent; names are romanised to the passport; terminology is handled by a specialist in the field.
Result
Documents an English-speaking employer can place correctly — without misrepresenting a foreign qualification.

Law & trade

Contract & power of attorney German → Korean

Starting point
A German company signs a supply contract with a partner in Seoul; legal form, deadlines and the accompanying correspondence must be precise and in the right tone in Korean.
Process
Terms such as "GmbH" and "Prokura" stay in the original with an explanation; the correspondence is written in the formal register (하십시오체); a legal specialist checks the terminology.
Result
A contract that is legally readable, and correspondence that is right in register — without replacing German legal institutions with foreign ones.

Quote & price

What does a Korean translation cost?

We review volume, field, language direction and name spelling and name a binding fixed price. Standard certificates are usually a flat fee per document; longer texts are priced per standard line — certification on request, advance PDF and postal delivery included.

Binding fixed price
from € 1.09 / standard linestandard certificates at a flat fee per document
Price up front · no unannounced extra costs
Native Korean professional translation✓included
Passport-matched name romanisation & correct register✓included
Certification by an authorised translator on request✓included
Advance PDF & postal delivery of the original✓included
Quality management & final check✓included

Korean is priced in language Group 3, from € 1.09 per standard line (55 characters incl. spaces); we name the exact amount after a brief review. How the price is made up →

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Korean documents & texts

Certified Korean document translation.

We translate Korean – German and Korean – English – from certified records to specialist texts. Commonly requested from Korean: 출생증명서 (birth certificate), 혼인관계증명서 (marriage certificate), 범죄경력증명서 (police clearance certificate), 졸업증명서 (diploma), 운전면허증 (driving licence).

Certificates & personal records

Law & business

Technology, web & IT

Medicine & marketing

FAQ

Korean translation – frequently asked questions.

Do you translate both Korean to German and Korean to English?

Yes. Korean ⇄ German is the usual pairing for German authorities, courts and business partners; Korean ⇄ English covers international contexts – applications, contracts and documentation exchanged in English. A native-speaker specialist is assigned to each direction.

Do you work into North or South Korean?

We translate into standard South Korean (Pyojuneo). North and South Korea have diverged in spelling, spacing and vocabulary since 1945; standard South Korean is what German authorities, universities and partners in Seoul expect, and it is the norm we write to.

How are Korean names written for a German registry office?

The spelling in your passport is decisive, surname first. We copy it exactly – even where it follows the older McCune–Reischauer form or an individual spelling (Lee, Park, Kim) – and add the Revised Romanization of 2000 only as an explanation, never a diverging one, because passport names can rarely be changed afterwards.

Can you provide a certified Korean translation recognised in Germany?

Yes. For certificates, diplomas and official documents an authorised translator (ermächtigter Übersetzer, authorised by a German court under state law) issues a certified translation with a certification note, recognised by German authorities and courts nationwide.

Does a German authorised translator also count in South Korea?

Not automatically. South Korea works with notarised translations and, for use abroad, an apostille; the Republic of Korea is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention (in force since 2007) and the apostille is issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We clarify in advance which country the document is for and check whether an apostille is also required. The apostille is issued by the competent authority, not by the FÜD.

What does a Korean translation cost?

The price depends on volume, field, direction and deadline. After a brief review we name a binding fixed price; standard certificates are usually a flat fee per document, from € 1.09 per standard line.
The name on the diploma had to match the passport exactly — the FÜD kept the McCune–Reischauer spelling and read the Hanja correctly. The business letters to Seoul are now right in tone as well.
★★★★★

J. Park · qualification recognition, Frankfurt

Next

Where to go next: services, fields, documents and languages.

Services

Proofreading & editingWebsite localisationAcademic & research translationProfessional translation services

Specialist fields

Pharma translatorTranscreationFinancial translatorUser manual translation

Documents

Divorce certificate translationDegree recognitionTranslate contractsPassport & ID translation

Languages

Certified English–German translationVietnamese–German translationCertified Greek translationSlovenian to German translation

Work with us

Already a native Korean speaker? Become an authorised translator.

Our Korean translations are produced by native-speaker specialists — the reason German authorities, universities and courts accept them without queries. Beyond the language itself, that rests on German at C2 level, a specialist field the translator can defend, and — for certified work — court authorisation. If you bring that combination rather than bilingualism alone, we work with Korean translators employed and freelance, and the way in is also open through an internship.

The path

German to C2, plus a field

Native Korean is your starting capital; the market rewards what you build on top. German at C2 — the level at which you read a German ruling or medical report without hesitation — is the real gate, because certified work means rendering official German with precision, not just understanding it. Add a field you can defend (law, medicine, technology, finance) and the honorific and terminology control that comes with it. That combination, not language alone, is what a registry office or a Seoul court actually relies on.

Why it holds up

Authorisation, and the expertise behind it

For certified translations you apply to the competent Regional Court (Landgericht) to be authorised under state law. And Korean is exacting, specialist work: the graded honorific levels (존댓말) and forms of address that decide a text's tone and respect, plus passport-exact name romanisation that has to be right the first time. Careful human work here is not nostalgia — it is what the receiving authority requires.

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