Subtitling · Korean
Korean subtitling services
Native Korean subtitlers for corporate video, eLearning, streaming content, documentary and advertising. Delivered to platform specification, correctly rendered.
About Korean subtitling
Korean subtitles for an audience with high expectations
Korean is written in Hangul, an alphabet whose letters combine into syllable blocks, so a word occupies fewer character positions than its English equivalent. Korean text contracts against English, though as with other East Asian languages the saved space does not convert directly into saved reading time.
Korean audiences are also unusually exposed to subtitling standards, given how much Korean content is subtitled outward for international distribution and how much foreign content arrives subtitled. The reference point for quality is high.
At GoLocalise, we work with native Korean subtitlers and every file passes linguistic and technical QA before delivery.
Which do you need?
Open captions, closed captions or SDH
Three different deliverables that people often ask for by the wrong name. Here is the short version.
Open captions
Burnt inSubtitles burnt permanently into the picture. Nobody can switch them off, which is exactly what you want for social feeds that autoplay muted.
- Always visible
- Font, size, colour and position to match your brand
- Delivered as a finished video file
Closed captions
SwitchableA separate file the viewer can turn on and off, and that can carry several languages at once. The standard for YouTube, Vimeo and the streaming platforms.
- Viewer controls them
- Multiple languages from one video
- Indexed by search engines
SDH
AccessibilitySubtitling for the deaf and hard of hearing: dialogue plus speaker IDs and the sound effects and music cues that carry meaning.
- Speaker identification
- Non-dialogue audio described
- Meets accessibility requirements
How can we help you?
Your project manager has everything covered
One point of contact from brief to delivery, and both a linguistic and a technical check on every file.
Brief review
We review your video, your audience, and the speech level the content calls for.
Template and translation
Where needed, we create an English subtitle template first, then send it to a native Korean subtitler.
Timing and quality checks
Subtitles are timed against the video and checked for reading speed, line length, break points, and format compliance.
Delivery and display check
Files are delivered in the format you need, confirmed to render correctly.
Our standards
The specs we work to
Readable subtitles are a matter of measurable limits, not opinion. These are the defaults we apply to Korean unless your style guide says otherwise.
Maximum per line
Korean counts differently to Latin script
Maximum on screen
Bottom-weighted, centred
Reading speed
Lower than Latin-script rates
Minimum duration
Seven seconds maximum
Hangul syllable blocks pack more into each character position, but reading speed standards for Korean are set in characters per second at rates below those used for Latin script. A line that looks short on the page can still exceed what a viewer can read in the time available. Shorter text does not mean more room.
Deliverables
Professional subtitle formats
We adapt your existing translations into subtitle format or create subtitles from scratch, in Korean, English or any other language.
Standard text-based
Compatible with most platforms and players.
Broadcast & professional
For broadcasters, post houses and streaming delivery specs.
Burnt-in video
A finished file with the subtitles baked into the picture.
Korean specifics
Speech level is not a style choice
Korean marks formality through verb endings in every sentence, so the choice is not cosmetic. Corporate and instructional content generally uses a consistent polite register; dialogue-driven material should track the speakers.
Subtitles that apply one level uniformly across a file flatten relationships the dialogue is actively establishing, which an audience that consumes a great deal of subtitled content notices immediately.
Honorifics and titles need the same care. They rarely have direct English equivalents, and dropping them loses meaning Korean viewers expect to see: job titles, kinship terms used between non-relatives, name-plus-title constructions. We handle them according to the conventions used in the market rather than translating them literally or removing them.
Subtitling rates
Professional Korean subtitling
For single videos and straightforward content where accurate, well timed subtitles are what you need.
- Native Korean subtitler
- Speech level matched to the content
- Frame-accurate timing
For longer content and recurring projects, including transcription, SDH, burned-in subtitles and multiple output formats.
- Everything in Standard
- Transcription and template
- SDH and burnt-in
- Multiple output formats
Every project is quoted individually and backed by our Price Match Promise. Send us your video for an exact, no-obligation quote.
Trusted by global brands
We have used GoLocalise on a regular basis for projects in a number of languages. The service we receive is great. The team is always friendly and professional. The voiceovers we receive are of a very high quality and the turnaround is extremely quick. We are very happy to recommend GoLocalise to other businesses.
It was a pleasure to work with David and the team at GoLocalise. David gave me lots of help and advice, guiding me through my first subtitling project. He really knows his stuff! The experience was completely pain-free. I would not hesitate to recommend GoLocalise – outstanding work at a good price.
They're reliable, adaptive and obsessed with quality. And while you can never be 100% guaranteed of perfection, you can be sure GoLocalise will go the extra mile to get it right every time. We've worked with them now for over 5 years and we are truly thankful to have such a strong localisation partner for our business.
Related services
The rest of your Korean project
Most common questions
It should follow the relationships on screen. Korean marks formality through verb endings in every sentence, so the choice is not cosmetic: applying a single level across a whole file removes information about who is speaking to whom and how. Corporate and instructional content generally uses a consistent polite register, while dialogue-driven material should track the speakers.
Ready to subtitle your video in Korean?
Send us your video and we'll come back with an exact, itemised quote.
Professional voice over services for your audio and video productions
Voice over
- State-of-the-art studios
- Neumann microphones
- On-hand sound engineers
- 1,000+ voice actors
Translation
- 100+ languages covered
- Tailored to your needs
- Stringent quality control
- Dedicated project managers
Subtitling
- Experienced subtitlers
- Industry-standard software
- Burn-in and graphic editing
- Open and closed captions
Transcription
- Improve accessibility
- Reach a wider audience
- Boost SEO and video views
- Maximise video engagement