South Korea Passport Photo Maker

South Korea passport photo at a glance

What the rules actually say

South Korea's passport photo culture is uniquely studio-centric. Korean ID photo studios (사진관) are a recognised speciality with dedicated lighting setups, retouching workflows, and instant printing for ₩10,000-₩20,000. The studios produce passport, resume, and other ID photos all from one 10-minute session.

The official Ministry of Foreign Affairs spec is 35 × 45 mm with a 25-35 mm head height — a wider range than Schengen's 32-36 mm. Background must be pure white. The acceptance of subtle retouching (colour balance, blemish removal, hair tidying) is what makes Korean studios different from Western pharmacy photo services. The retouching standard is set at 'natural enhancement' — anything that visibly changes face structure is rejected by the verification scanner.

The both-ears-visible rule catches some applicants whose hair naturally falls over the ears. Studios will style the hair with light combing during the shoot; for self-shot photos, pull hair back behind the ears before framing.

Korean passport applications are lodged at the district office (구청 / 시청) and processed in 5-7 working days. The photo specification is the same whether you apply in Korea or at a Korean consulate abroad. For citizens applying through a US-based consulate, the same 35 × 45 mm Korean spec is used — bring two physical prints to the appointment.

Top reasons South Korea passport photos get rejected

• Background not pure white
• Visible makeup beyond natural skin tone (heavy contouring rejected)
• Coloured contact lenses
• Hair covering the ears (Korean passport rule requires both ears visible)
• Photo retouched beyond basic colour balance

Where to apply for your South Korea passport

Apply at your district office (구청 / 시청). https://www.passport.go.kr/ →

Studio alternative: ₩10,000 to ₩20,000 at ID photo studios (사진관). The photo from this tool meets the same published spec — print on photo paper at home or at a drugstore for the same compliance result.

Related countries

If you also need a passport photo for a neighbouring or related country, the spec usually differs slightly. Here are the closest matches:

• Japan passport photo — 35 × 45 mm, plain
• China passport photo — 33 × 48 mm, pure white background
• Singapore passport photo — 35 × 45 mm, plain white background

Privacy: what we do with your photo

The South Korea passport photo maker runs entirely in your browser. Cropping, scaling, and background colour replacement happen on your device using the Canvas API. The background-removal step uses our private worker server, processes the image in memory only, and deletes it immediately after returning the cutout — no logs, no storage, no training data.

Page URL: https://freeheadshot.org/tools/passport-photo/south-korea. Spec verified against passport.go.kr on 2026-05-22.