OpenPhotoId · Documents
Korean passport photo: size and rules, checked in your browser
A Korean passport photo is 3.5 × 4.5 cm, taken in the last six months against a plain white background, with the head 3.2–3.6 cm from crown to chin; for an online reissue the file is 413 × 531 pixels and 500 KB or less. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not accept a photo whose background was removed or replaced with editing software. OpenPhotoId is a free passport photo maker that keeps your own background for the Korean passport photo, crops it to the rules and checks it on your own device. No sign-up, no watermark, and nothing is uploaded.
Korean passport photo size and rules
These are the rules of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs passport site, from its passport photo guide [1] and its page on photo files for online reissue [2], checked on 27 October 2026. Both pages are in Korean; the wording below is our translation.
| Rule | What the Ministry asks for | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Size | 3.5 cm wide × 4.5 cm high | [1] |
| Head | 3.2–3.6 cm from the top of the head (not counting hair) to the chin | [1] |
| Taken | in the six months before you apply; colour, upper body, facing the front, no hat | [1] |
| Background | even white with no ink marks and no border; no other people or objects | [1] |
| Editing | no photo corrected with editing programs or filters, including AI edits; no background removed with an editing program or subject placed on a white background | [1] |
| Expression | mouth closed, no teeth showing, no smile, eyebrows not raised; hair not covering the eyes, eyebrows or the outline of the face | [1] |
| Glasses | no reflection on the lenses and no frames over the eyes; no tinted glasses, sunglasses, or cosmetic, colour or circle lenses | [1] |
| on glossy or matte photo paper, not plain paper; 300 dpi recommended | [1] | |
| Online file | JPG/JPEG, 500 KB or less; 413 × 531 px recommended, only 395–431 × 507–550 px can be uploaded; 300 dpi recommended | [2] |
Every entry the app supports, with its official page, is on the supported documents list.
Taking a Korean passport photo yourself
The Ministry's guide says a photo you take yourself can be used only if it meets the passport photo rules [1]. Its page on online photo files adds that photos taken with a mobile device such as a phone, or heavily corrected with editing programs, are not recommended, because the photo in the passport can look different from you [2]. It also says a photo can be refused at the passport examination even after it passes the system's pre-check, for example when the background was removed with an editing program or the head is too short or too long [2].
So the honest advice is: a photo studio is the safer route for a Korean passport photo. If you take it yourself, use a camera with a sharp lens, a plain white wall and even light, and use the app to check the head size, the background and the file before you submit.
What the app does with a Korean passport photo
- Your own background is kept and checked. Background starts on “Leave as it is”, and the background check measures your wall against white (#FFFFFF).
- No retouching. Soften skin is off for this document, and Formal clothes is not offered: a drawn jacket is an edit.
- A notice before you submit says South Korea does not accept a photo whose background was removed or replaced with editing software. If you replace the background anyway, the app warns that the photo can be rejected.
- If your photo does not reach the edges of the crop, the app asks you to retake it from a little further away rather than filling the edges in, because the filled band is an edit too.
- A 413 × 531 px JPEG of up to 500 KB for the online file, which is 35 × 45 mm at 300 dpi, and the head-height check uses 71.1–80% of the photo height, the Ministry's 3.2–3.6 cm on a 4.5 cm photo.
- Twelve checks run on the finished file: face count, head height, eye line, centring, head tilt, glasses, distance between the eyes, sharpness, even lighting, background, size in pixels and file size.
Printing the Korean passport photo
The web app tiles the 35 × 45 mm photo on a 4×6, 5×7, A4 or Letter sheet with cutting guides: 8 photos on a 4×6 in sheet. The Ministry does not accept a photo printed on plain paper, so print the sheet on glossy or matte photo paper, at a photo shop or on a photo printer, at actual size, not “Fit to page”, and measure one photo before you cut: it should be 35 mm wide. More on printing the sheet at actual size.
Before you submit a Korean passport photo
- Face and shoulders straight to the camera, mouth closed, a neutral expression, eyes open and looking ahead.
- Keep your hair off your eyes, eyebrows and cheeks, and take off earphones and anything that covers your head.
- Stand in front of a plain white wall in even light, with no shadow on your face or behind you.
- Use a photo taken in the last six months.
- A pass from the app is not an acceptance. The passport office still checks every photo.
See also how to take a passport photo at home, and which documents refuse a replaced white background.
Questions
What size is a Korean passport photo?
3.5 × 4.5 cm, with the head 3.2–3.6 cm from the top of the head (not counting hair) to the chin. For an online reissue the file is 413 × 531 pixels (395–431 × 507–550 px is accepted), a JPG of 500 KB or less.
Can I take a Korean passport photo myself?
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says a photo you take yourself can be used only if it meets the passport photo rules, and that photos taken with a mobile phone are not recommended because they can look different from you. A photo studio is the safer route.
Can I change the background of a Korean passport photo?
No. A photo whose background was removed with an editing program, or whose subject was placed on a white background, is not accepted. OpenPhotoId keeps your own background for this document and checks how white and even it is.
Does OpenPhotoId upload my photo?
No. The face detector runs in your browser, so the photo never leaves your device, and after the first visit the app works offline.
Free, private, and on every device
Every feature is free, with no account and no watermark. It runs in any modern browser, on desktop or phone, and there are apps for macOS, Windows and Android; the iPhone and iPad download is coming back soon. The source is on GitLab under MIT or Apache-2.0.