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Korean Passport Photo Guidelines

When applying for a Korean passport, beside necessary documents such as application form, photocopy of Korean passport and identity card, the applicant must also submit a biometric photo that meets all the Korean passport photo requirements. The quality of the photo as well various other factors are crucial as the passport photograph is one of the most principle means to identify a person. In this article we will clarify all specifications applied to Korean passport photos. 

Korean passport photo requirements

Korean passport photo size

Photo for Korean passport has to be taken from the front with good natural light. The photo must portray the head and upper shoulder parts of the citizen. The standard Korean passport photo size 35 x 45mm (width x height), which is strictly required by the authorities. The distance between chin and the top of the head must be around 32 - 36 mm. If a photo fails to meet this requirement, it will be automatically rejected. 

Validity of Korean passport photo

A photo for Korean passport application must be taken within the recent 6 months before the date of presenting the application. If your passport photo was taken lately but your appearance has been drastically changing, you must take a new photo for the application. Cutting or dying hair or growing beard are not considered to be drastic changes. The significant changes include:

• you made a gender transition.
• you had a facial plastic surgery or experienced a permanent facial deformation.
• you added or removed tattoos or piercing on your face area.
• you lost or gained a significant amount of weight.

Photo Quality

Korean passport photos must be printed in colors and under any circumstances not on normal paper. High-quality photograph paper is required for this process. The printed photos must have a uniformed and sharp surface, without print marks, wrinkles or folds. Furthermore, it is obligatory to print Korean passport photos with high resolution. Fuzzy photo will affect the scanning result of a passport photo which easily leads to identity impersonation and many other problems during immigration. 

Background

The only background that is allowed for Korean passport photos is the plain and white one, free of patterns, spots and without borders. Other people or objects are not consent to appear in the background. The photograph must show exclusively the person that applies for the passport. Moreover, you should avoid shadows on the face or in the background in Korean passport photos. 

Facial expression

The photo must be taken from the front (no half profile) and shows clearly two sides of the face. You also need to keep your head, shoulders and back straight. When taking a passport photo you have to look straight into the camera and keep a neutral facial expression. A smile that shows teeth or any particular facial expression such as anger, grimace... will disqualify the photo. Last but not least, eyes should be widely opened and mouth should be closed for the passport photo shot. 

Eyes - Glasses

One important thing you should remember when shooting a Korean passport photo is that you need to look straight into the camera. If you look in different directions, your photo won’t meet the requirement. Another important thing is your eyes must not be covered by anything. Do not use color contact lense or glasses with thick frames or sunglasses. You should check again after the shoot if the red-eye effect appears in your photos because this can make your application turn down by passport offices. 

Outfit

There is no specific rule given by the authorities about what type of outfit you should wear for a Korean passport photo. However, you should pay attention to your clothing choice because an unsuitable outfit can lead to rejection of your passport application. You can wear light coloured clothing as long as it is distinguished from the background color. It is important that you avoid white shirt or white t-shirt as it does not create contrast with the white background. 

You are allowed to wear religious attire and even head covering given that you dress like that in daily life. However, the photo must still show a clear face from forehead to chin.

Hairstyle

Just like an outfit, there is no particular requirement for a hairstyle in Korean passport photo. It is up to you to decide how to style your hair before the passport photo shooting. It is not necessary to expose your ears in the passport photo so it is possible to let your hair down, however, it must not cover your face oval. We suggest you go for a simple hairstyle and keep your hair neat. Hair accessories are allowed as long as they have small size and do not cover any facial features.

Passport photo maker 

Since taking a passport photo at a studio with a professional photographer can be time consuming and costly, some people opt for taking passport photos at automatic photo booths. However, there have been a lot of reports that a lot of passport photos taken at photo booths were rejected by the authorities due to many reasons such as lack of lighting, incorrect dimension of face on the photo or blurriness. If you want to save time and money but don't want your photos to risk being rejected then our online passport photo application is the perfect solution for you. 

Passport photo online is a passport photo maker that can help you obtain just a perfect passport photo in a minute. All you need to do is take a picture of yourself anywhere regardless of the background then upload it on our application or web service. Your photo will be processed and adjusted to the official korean passport photo requirements. Here are what our passport photo tool can do:

Photo crop and resize tool

The acceptable size of a Korean passport photo is 35 x 45 mm. What's best, though, is that you don't even have to remember! If you have chosen the document you want in our online photo editor, it is Artificial Intelligence that takes care of the right dimensions, the proper crop and resolution. You must concentrate only on taking the best picture of yourself. You're only going to pay for the one that you want to download. The other images are being tried out for free.

Background removing

Our intelligent photo tool is capable of producing any background color you may need. It doesn't matter whether other individuals or objects are visible in your frame if the background is a wall with shadows or shapes. The online photo generator manages each challenge! Wait just a second and the background in your passport photo will be clear, white and valid.

Photo validator

Would you like to be 100 percent sure that the photo attached to your passport request is accurate and will be approved by the authorities? You do not need to ask for a separate tool, or search online, from a photographer. Our Passport Photo Generator is a complete tool to offer you 100 percent satisfaction! Any picture is checked by AI, and if it is listed as correct, you can be sure it is accurate. If somehow (which never happens, but we want you to know) your photograph certified by our authentication tool is not accepted, just let us know and we'll send the money back to you. Yet this can't even happen. We're sending you a guarantee of approval.

Photo template

Once your photo is well prepared and ready our passport photo maker will send a photo template to your e-mail so that you can print it out to use as many times as you like. You only pay once but you can print the same photo for other uses such as for your ID card to apply for a tourist visa and so on! 

How to take Korean passport photo at home?

It's not hard at all to take a Korean passport photo on your own. With the assistance of the PhotoAid app for iPhone and Android, you can easily take a passport photo at your home. All you need to do is have a smartphone and follow our instructions.

Preparation

It is recommended that you ask someone for help or place the phone on a smooth surface on a tripod. To ensure proper framing, stand about 40 cm away from the camera. The picture will be sharp in this way and the proportions of your face will be visible clearly. Do not take a selfie, because the proportions are not going to be right.

Lighting

It's a really critical factor here. Positioning yourself opposite a window with natural light is safest. To obtain illumination from each side, the light in the morning is best. Of course, you can also use a lamp simultaneously to achieve a better result.

Posing

Position yourself opposite the window. Your face should look natural and not show any expression. You can take as many photos as you want, so you can try different clothes or hairstyles.

Editing with Passport photo online

Simply download the app to your iPhone or Android smartphone. You can download the Passport Photo Generator from AppStore or Passport Photo App from Google Play Store. It works under Android and iOS. Then all you have to do is upload your favorite photo to the app and the software will validate it for you if the formal specifications (background, size, etc.) are correct. After that, the prepared photo will be emailed to you and you can use it to request a new Korean passport.

Last update: 6/8/23