# Korean to English image translator for certificates and scans LoreAI is a Korean to English image translator for documents. Upload a photo, scan or PDF, choose English, and you get an editable Word file with the Hangul read by OCR, the tables rebuilt and the numbers kept. Registration numbers come back digit for digit, and dates are written out in English. ## How a Korean certificate comes back in English A 기본증명서(상세), the detailed basic certificate, has three tables, for the person, the registration events and the parents, plus a domicile line, an issue number and a mayor's seal. This is how each part looks in the Word file. - **Numbers**: The resident registration number and the issue number come back digit for digit, as in 930821-2000000. - **Dates**: Written out in English, so 1993년 08월 21일 becomes 21 August 1993. - **Tables**: Each table arrives as a Word table, with every row and column in its place. - **Terms**: 등록기준지 becomes Registered Domicile, 본 becomes Clan Origin, 개명 becomes Change of Name and 서울가정법원 becomes Seoul Family Court. - **Names**: Romanized in English letters, family name first, such as Park Jeong-ho (朴正浩) for the father, with the hanja from the source kept in parentheses. The English version is an ordinary Word file, as with any [scanned PDF translation](https://www.loreai.org/translate-scanned-pdf), so you can change a spelling or a term before you send it on. ## Does OCR read Hangul mixed with hanja? Yes. Korean certificates print most text in Hangul and add hanja, the Chinese characters, in parentheses after a name or for the clan seat, as in 박정호(朴正浩) or 密陽. LoreAI reads both scripts on the same page and detects Korean on its own. A hanja clan seat such as 密陽 comes back as Miryang. Modern Korean certificates are printed in horizontal lines, and LoreAI keeps their line and table order in the Word file. ## How Korean names are written in English South Korea's official system is the Revised Romanization of Korean, published by the National Institute of Korean Language. It writes the family name first, then a space and the given name, and allows a hyphen between the syllables of a given name, so Min Yongha and Min Yong-ha are both correct[1]. Sound changes between the syllables of a given name are not written[1]. Many people already have an English spelling in their passport, and family names often follow long-standing spellings such as Park, Lee or Kim. Because the result is a Word file, you can set every name to the spelling the person uses. ## Which Korean certificates you are likely translating Korean civil records come from the family relations register as separate certificates. The Korean consulate in Chicago lists the 기본증명서 (Basic Certificate) as the equivalent of a birth certificate, along with the 가족관계증명서 (Family Relationship Certificate) and the 혼인관계증명서 (Marriage Certificate)[2]. For records before 2008, the consulate names the 제적등본 as the equivalent of all three[2]. These register documents can be issued only in Korean, under Supreme Court regulations the consulate cites[2]. So a receiver abroad gets the Korean certificate together with a translation. Translate each certificate as its own file, because each one is a separate document with its own issue number. ## How to translate a Korean photo or PDF with LoreAI 1. **Get a clean copy.** A PDF printed from the issuing office or a flat scan reads best. If you photograph the page, shoot it straight on in even light. 2. **Upload the file.** Sign in and upload the JPG, PNG or PDF. Your first document is free, up to 3 pages. 3. **Choose English.** Leave the source on Auto-detect. Korean is recognized from the Hangul on the page. 4. **Download the Word file.** The certificate's tables come back as Word tables, headers are translated with the body text, and the mayor's seal stays in place in the Word file, where it is on the original. 5. **Send it on.** Pass the Word file to the translator who signs the certification, or keep it for your own records. ## Free Korean image translators and what they return Google Translate has an Images tab in the browser. After it translates a picture, you can copy the translated text or download the translated image[3]. Google notes that accuracy depends on how clear the text is[3]. That works well for a sign or a screenshot you only want to read. A certificate is different, because the reader needs the rows, labels and numbers in a file they can check and sign. LoreAI returns a Word document rather than a picture with text painted over it. ## Korean certificates for USCIS USCIS wants a full English translation of every document in Korean, which the translator certifies as complete and accurate, together with a statement that the translator is competent in both languages[4]. LoreAI is not a certified translation service and does not sign anything. A translator who reads Korean reviews the Word file and adds the signed statement. The [certificate of translation template](https://www.loreai.org/certificate-of-translation-template) has wording you can use, and [USCIS translation requirements](https://www.loreai.org/uscis-translation) covers the rest of the rule. ## Questions people ask ### Can I translate a Korean PDF to English and keep the tables? Yes. LoreAI reads scanned and text PDFs with OCR and rebuilds tables as Word tables. A basic certificate keeps all three of its tables. ### Does it read hanja as well as Hangul? Yes. Both scripts are read on the same page. The hanja after a name stays in parentheses, as in Park Jeong-ho (朴正浩). ### Which romanization does the translation use? Names come back in English letters with the family name first. The Revised Romanization allows a given name with or without a hyphen[1], and you can edit any name in the Word file. ### Is the translation enough for USCIS? Only with a translator's certification. USCIS asks for a full English translation certified as complete and accurate by a translator competent in both languages[4]. ## Sources 1. [National Institute of Korean Language: Romanization of Korean](https://www.korean.go.kr/front_eng/roman/roman_01.do), accessed November 3, 2026 2. [Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Chicago: General Information / Terms, Certificate](https://overseas.mofa.go.kr/us-chicago-en/brd/m_26755/view.do?seq=1&page=1), accessed November 3, 2026 3. [Google Translate Help: Translate images (computer)](https://support.google.com/translate/answer/6142483?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop), accessed November 3, 2026 4. [8 CFR 103.2(b)(3), Translations, Electronic Code of Federal Regulations](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-8/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-103/subpart-A/section-103.2), accessed November 3, 2026 By Matt Mountain · Updated November 3, 2026