--- title: "HWP to PDF: can't open an .hwp file? Turn it into a scanned PDF" description: "Look Scanned now opens Hancom Office Hangul documents (.hwp and .hwpx), in beta. Check every page in your browser without installing Hancom Office, and save a PDF that looks like a paper scan." date: 2026-10-08T02:00:00.000Z lang: en source: https://lookscanned.io/en/blog/hwp-to-scanned-pdf tags: ["HWP", "PDF", "product updates"] --- # HWP to PDF: can't open an .hwp file? Turn it into a scanned PDF Someone sent you a document, and the file name ends in `.hwp`. Double-click it and nothing useful happens. HWP is the format of Hangul, the word processor in Hancom Office, and it's still the everyday format for Korean government forms, school letters and a lot of business paperwork. Windows, macOS and Microsoft Word can't open it. Look Scanned can now open `.hwp` and `.hwpx` files in your browser. Select the file on the [HWP to scanned PDF page](https://lookscanned.io/en/scan/hwp), read through every page in the preview, and save a PDF that looks like a scanned paper copy. There's nothing to install. One thing to know up front: the PDF you download always has the scan effect. Look Scanned makes scanned-looking copies; it isn't a clean HWP-to-PDF converter. If you need a clean PDF with the exact layout, see "When the layout has to be exact" further down. ## Which HWP files open without Hancom Office - **HWP 5.0 (.hwp).** The usual `.hwp` file, saved by Hangul 2002 or later. - **HWPX (.hwpx).** The XML-based document format Hangul can also save. HWP support is experimental (beta). Files from much older versions, such as Hangul 97, aren't supported. ## What shows up on the page Look Scanned lays the document out right in your browser with an open-source HWP engine. - **Text and tables.** Paragraphs and tables are set page by page on the paper size the document specifies. - **Pictures stored in the file.** PNG, JPEG, BMP and TIFF images are shown, and so are GIFs and WMF/EMF drawings. - **The printed view.** Marks and guides that Hangul shows only while you edit are left out, just as when you print. The engine is also built to draw equations, charts, shapes, headers and footers, and footnotes. The more complex the document, though, the more likely something differs from the original, so check the preview. ## How to turn an HWP file into a scanned PDF 1. Open the [HWP to scanned PDF page](https://lookscanned.io/en/scan/hwp) and select your `.hwp` or `.hwpx` file. 2. Go through the preview page by page. Check the fonts, tables, pictures and page breaks. 3. Adjust the scan effect, such as paper tone, tilt and noise. If the document has small print or dense tables, keep blur and noise low. 4. Select "Generate Scanned PDF", then "Download Scanned PDF". Got a whole folder of them? [Bulk Scan](https://lookscanned.io/en/scan/bulk), a Pro feature, takes several HWP and HWPX files at once, and you can mix them with PDFs and Word files. If you'd rather have one image per page, choose PNG or JPEG as the output format. Our [guide to PDF, JPG and PNG](https://lookscanned.io/en/blog/scanned-document-pdf-jpg-png) explains the difference. For Word and Excel files, see [how to convert Word and Excel to a scanned PDF](https://lookscanned.io/en/blog/convert-word-excel-to-scanned-pdf); for Chinese OFD invoices, see [OFD to scanned PDF](https://lookscanned.io/en/blog/ofd-to-scanned-pdf). The HWP file is opened and converted in your browser. It isn't uploaded to a server. The first HWP file you open takes a moment, because the layout engine (about 12 MB) has to download. After that, other files you open on the same page don't load it again. ## When it doesn't look like the original - **Fonts can change line breaks and the page count.** Text is laid out with the fonts installed on your device. If a Hancom font such as 함초롬바탕 (HCR Batang) is missing, a similar Korean font takes its place, so lines can wrap differently and the page count can differ from Hangul's. Hancom fonts are not downloaded. - **Password-protected and DRM-protected documents won't open.** Ask the sender for an unprotected copy or a PDF. - **Linked pictures are missing.** A picture that only points to a separate file, rather than being stored in the document, can't be reached by the browser. - **The PDF is made of images.** Like a real scan, its text can't be selected or searched, and Hangul can't edit it. Keep the original `.hwp` or `.hwpx` file in case you need to make changes. ## When the layout has to be exact If not a single line may move, for example on a form you have to submit, export a PDF from Hangul first, check it, and then select that PDF in Look Scanned. Hangul has already done the layout, so the original stays exactly as it is and only the scan effect is added. If you don't have Hancom Office, ask whoever sent the file to send it as a PDF. Got an `.hwp` file you haven't been able to open? [Try it here](https://lookscanned.io/en/scan/hwp).