Subtitling · Korean
Korean subtitling services
Native Korean subtitlers for corporate video, eLearning, streaming content, documentary and advertising. Delivered to platform specification, correctly rendered. Part of a full Korean language service: subtitles, voice over scripts, and translation of any content you need.
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 inKorean subtitles burnt permanently into the picture. Nobody can switch them off, which is exactly what you want for a social feed that autoplays muted.
- Always visible
- Hangul set in your brand typeface, at the size and position you choose
- 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
Subtitles or captions? The two terms are often used interchangeably. Strictly, subtitles translate the dialogue for viewers who can hear the audio, while captions are same-language and add speaker labels and sound cues for viewers who cannot. We produce either — translated Korean subtitles or same-language Korean captions and SDH — in whichever form your platform and audience require.
What we subtitle
Korean subtitling for every kind of content
Korean subtitling spans K-content, global corporate rollouts and accessibility work, and each format carries its own expectations for register and on-screen text. These are the project types we handle most.
Corporate & training video
Internal comms, onboarding and product training subtitled for global teams and LMS delivery.
eLearning & online courses
Timed, readable subtitles for course platforms, MOOCs and instructional video.
Documentary & factual
Festival, broadcast and streaming documentaries, including interview clean-up and on-screen text.
Advertising & social
Burnt-in captions for muted autoplay on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and paid social.
Streaming & OTT
Platform-spec subtitle and caption files for VOD, OTT and broadcast delivery.
Accessibility (SDH & closed captions)
Same-language SDH and closed captions to meet WCAG and accessibility requirements.
Events, webinars & conferences
Recorded talks, town halls and webinars captioned for on-demand viewing.
E-commerce & product video
Short product and explainer videos captioned to lift conversion and reach.
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 in Hangul syllable blocks, eojeol spacing at the breaks, and format compliance.
Delivery and display check
Files delivered in the format you need, with the Hangul checked on the destination player.
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
Latin characters count as half
Maximum on screen
One line preferred where it fits
Reading speed
Nine for children’s content
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. And if the project needs a timed script or a plain document instead, we deliver that too.
Standard text-based
Compatible with most platforms and players.
Broadcast & professional
For broadcasters, post houses and streaming delivery specs.
Burnt-in video
One file, with the Korean subtitles burnt into the frame.
Need a different format? Convert SRT, VTT and more with our free subtitle converter →
| Where it's going | What we deliver |
|---|---|
| YouTube, Vimeo & LMS platforms | SRT or VTT closed captions |
| Netflix, Amazon & broadcast | IMSC, TTML or EBU-STL to platform spec |
| Instagram, TikTok & paid social | Burned-in captions in MP4 (open captions) |
| Premiere, Final Cut & DaVinci Resolve | SRT / VTT that import straight into your edit |
Not sure which you need? Tell us the destination platform and we deliver to its exact spec.
Korean specifics
Speech level is not a style choice
Korean marks formality through verb endings in every sentence, so the choice of register is not cosmetic. Corporate and instructional content generally uses a consistent polite level; dialogue-driven material should track the speakers as they shift between them.
Subtitles that apply one level uniformly across a file flatten relationships the dialogue is actively establishing — who defers to whom, who is close, who is distant — which an audience that watches 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: job titles, kinship terms used between non-relatives, name-plus-title forms. We handle them by the conventions of the market rather than translating literally or removing them.
Since 2008
Subtitling & captioning
100+
Languages covered
ISO 9001 & 14001
Certified processes
24–48h
Typical turnaround
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.
Not sure what your Korean subtitles will cost?
Send us the video — or just its running time — and we come back with an itemised quote: running time, languages and output formats priced line by line, with nothing hidden. No obligation, and if you find a like-for-like price lower, we will match it.
- Free, itemised quote
- No obligation
- Price Match Promise
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.
Subtitling we've delivered
Have we done something like yours?
Return of the Goat II
Subtitling · European French — a different language from yours, shown because the process is the same
Related services
The rest of your Korean project
Korean voice over
Native Korean voice actors, recorded in broadcast-quality studios.
Learn moreTranslation services
Korean translation for scripts, subtitles and burned-in text.
Learn moreAll subtitling services
Our full subtitling and captioning offer across 100+ languages.
Learn moreKorean transcription
Where the spaces go changes the sentence.
Learn moreKorean translation
Every verb has to pick a level of politeness.
Learn moreSubtitling & captioning in more languages
Native subtitlers for corporate video, eLearning, streaming, documentary and advertising. Browse another language, or ask us about yours.
Subtitling we have delivered
Real projects, real deadlines, and the files that went live.
Subtitling · European French
Return of the Goat II
Elevating cycling narratives with multilingual subtitling.
Subtitling · Indonesian
Pathways: Hope After Suicide Loss
Bridging cultures through subtitling: a journey of hope.
Subtitling · English
‘Todos a la Cocina’ Cooking Show
Enhancing global reach through expert subtitling.
Most common questions
What speech level should Korean subtitles use?
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.
How are honorifics and titles handled?
Carefully, because they rarely have direct English equivalents and dropping them loses meaning that Korean viewers expect to see. Job titles, kinship terms used between non-relatives, and name plus title constructions all carry social information. Our subtitlers handle them according to the conventions used in the market rather than translating them literally or removing them.
Does Korean text being shorter mean I can fit more in?
Not straightforwardly. 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.
How quickly can a Korean subtitling project be delivered?
A short video is normally back with you inside 24 to 48 hours. What changes it is running time, the number of formats leaving with the job, and whether we transcribe the Korean audio before we translate. The timeline is agreed with your project manager before work begins.
How much does Korean subtitling cost?
Korean subtitling is normally quoted per minute of video, with the price shaped by running time, whether we transcribe before translating, whether you are taking SDH or burnt-in delivery, and the number of delivery formats. Every project is priced individually and covered by our Price Match Promise, so send us the video for an exact, no-obligation quote.
Do you deliver SRT files, closed captions or burned-in Korean subtitles?
All three. We supply switchable closed-caption files such as SRT and VTT for YouTube, Vimeo and streaming platforms, broadcast formats like TTML and SMI, and open captions burned into the video for muted social content. Korean line breaks follow the language's own segmentation rules, not the English ones, which keeps the reading natural.
Can you provide Korean SDH and closed captions for accessibility?
Yes. We produce Korean SDH with speaker identification and described sound effects, along with standard closed captions, so your content satisfies WCAG and platform accessibility requirements. It is a standard part of our Korean captioning service.
Can you also translate the script and record a Korean voice over or dub?
Yes. Beyond subtitles we translate on-screen text and scripts, record native Korean voice over, and produce full dubs — keeping honorifics, speech level and terminology consistent across the subtitle file and the spoken track so nothing clashes.
Do you also add same-language Korean captions, not just translated subtitles?
Yes. As well as translating into Korean, we produce same-language Korean captions and SDH — the closed captioning many teams need for accessibility, social video and search. If your video is already in Korean and you simply want accurate on-screen captions or SDH, that is a core part of our Korean captioning service.
Can you start from a Korean SRT file we already have?
Absolutely. If you already have a transcript, script or a draft SRT/VTT, we can spot, time and quality-check from it rather than starting from scratch, which usually lowers the cost. If you don't, we transcribe the Korean audio first. Either way every file goes through the same linguistic and technical QA.
Will your Korean subtitle files open in our editing software?
Every common one. We deliver Korean SRT, VTT, STL and TTML files that drop straight into Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Camtasia and most online editors and players. If you would rather not manage a separate file, we burn the subtitles into an MP4 or MOV instead.
Ready to subtitle your video in Korean?
Send us your video and we'll come back with an exact, itemised quote.
The complete solution to localise your content
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