title: Korean document style — voice, hierarchy, conventions applies_to: [korean-docs, korean-reports, korean-presentations, korean-marketing-prose] version: 1.0.0 last_updated: 2026-05 stability: stable

Korean document style¶

How Korean documents differ from Latin / English ones in voice, hierarchy, formatting, and convention. Critical for any document going to a Korean audience.

Honorific level (존댓말 vs 반말)¶

The first decision: which level of speech. Different from "polite vs casual" in English — Korean has structural levels.

Level	When to use	Example
합쇼체 (~합니다 / ~입니다)	Formal — official documents, contracts, B2B reports, government, banking, business proposals	"본 보고서는 ... 분석합니다."
해요체 (~해요 / ~예요)	Polite-casual — consumer apps, friendly product docs, customer-facing	"이 기능은 자동으로 동기화돼요."
해체 (반말, ~해 / ~야)	Don't use in product docs / customer-facing	(avoid)
하게체 / 하오체	Archaic / regional. Avoid.	—

For most product documentation: 합쇼체 is the default. For consumer / friendly docs: 해요체 is acceptable.

Mixing¶

Don't switch levels within a document. Pick one and commit.

Common error: mixing 하십시오체 ("주십시오" = please) with 해요체 in the same paragraph. Pick one register.

Punctuation¶

Korean documents use English punctuation conventions when mixed with code or English terms:

✓ "API는 다음과 같이 작성됩니다: ..."
✓ "이 함수는 string을 반환합니다."
✗ "API는 다음과 같이 작성됩니다。 ..."   (Japanese punctuation, wrong)
✗ "이 함수는 string을 반환합니다.."     (double period)

For purely Korean prose (literary, traditional): the Korean punctuation . (full stop) and , (comma) work fine — they're Latin marks.

The Japanese-style 。 and 、 are NOT Korean — don't use.

Hangul + English interleaving¶

Korean technical docs mix Korean and English heavily. Standard rules:

Type	Convention
Code identifiers	English, monospace, no translation: `getUserById()`
Function descriptions	Korean prose around English code
Acronyms	English: API, URL, JSON, OAuth
Brand names	Original: Figma (not 피그마), GitHub (not 깃허브)
Technical terms with established Korean	Korean: 사용자 (user), 화면 (screen), 페이지 (page)
Newer terms with no established Korean	English in parens: 컴포지션 (composition)

Example sentence:

"이 API는 사용자 ID를 받아 User 객체를 반환합니다."

Korean for "this API takes user ID and returns User object." Korean prose, English code, English-Korean technical terms.

Spacing¶

Korean text has specific spacing rules (띄어쓰기). They differ from English. Common cases for product docs:

Rule	Example
Particles attach to noun	`사용자가` (not `사용자 가`)
Compound noun: typically together	`로그인 화면` OK; `로그인화면` also OK in technical docs
Number + unit: separate	`5 ms`, `12 px`, `30 초`
Foreign word (loanword) + Korean: separate	`API 호출`, `JSON 파싱`

Many subtle rules. For docs: use a Korean spell-checker / 하나님의서랍 / similar tool.

Hierarchy structures¶

Korean documents use numbered hierarchical sections more than English ones:

1. 개요
   1.1. 배경
   1.2. 목적
2. 분석
   2.1. 현황
       2.1.1. 사용자 행동
       2.1.2. 매출 추이
   2.2. 문제점
3. 제안
   3.1. ...

Western docs often skip numbering past the title. Korean business docs (보고서, 제안서) standard practice is full numeric hierarchy.

For technical product docs: less strict — heading levels are enough.

Heading-numbering equivalents¶

Korean documents may use these markers for sub-points:

Marker	Use
가, 나, 다, ...	Sub-bullet ordering (alphabetical equivalent)
ㄱ, ㄴ, ㄷ, ...	Older alphabetical
1, 2, 3	Standard numeric
①, ②, ③	Tight numeric (often used in compact specs)
㉠, ㉡, ㉢	Alternative — common in legal docs

Most product / technical docs: 1, 2, 3 and 가, 나, 다 are sufficient.

Document framing¶

보고서 (formal report)¶

Typical structure:

표지 (cover page)
  - Title
  - Subtitle / period
  - Author / dept
  - Date

목차 (table of contents)

I. 개요 (Overview)
II. 본론 (Body)
III. 결론 (Conclusion)
IV. 부록 (Appendix)

Each section uses Roman numeral I/II/III, then sub-numbers.

제안서 (proposal)¶

Sales / business proposal:

1. 회사 소개
2. 제안 요약
3. 제공 내용
   3.1. 범위
   3.2. 일정
   3.3. 비용
4. 기대 효과
5. 부록

Tutorial / 튜토리얼¶

Friendlier, less hierarchical:

시작하기
첫 번째 단계
두 번째 단계
완료!

Headings can be questions ("이 단계는 무엇을 하나요?") or statements ("프로젝트를 만들어 봅시다").

Numbers and statistics¶

Korean documents typically: - Numerals in Arabic digits, separators with , (Western convention). - Korean number names (만, 억) for very large display numbers. - "약" (approximately) before estimated numbers. - "이상" / "이하" for ranges ("100명 이상", "10% 이하"). - 백분율 / 퍼센트: 80% (Latin) or 80퍼센트 (Korean) — both acceptable.

Dates and times¶

Format	Example	Use
YYYY.MM.DD	`2026.05.08`	Compact — most product docs
YYYY년 M월 D일	`2026년 5월 8일`	Formal
YYYY-MM-DD	`2026-05-08`	Technical / ISO
M월 D일 (요일)	`5월 8일 (목)`	Casual

Time: - 24-hour: 14:30 — most Korean docs. - 12-hour: 오후 2:30 — older / formal.

Mix consistently within a doc.

Currency¶

Format	Use
`1,200,000원`	Suffix style (consumer / casual)
`₩1,200,000`	Prefix style (fintech / Western-coded)
`120만원`	Korean compact (만/억)
`1.2M원`	Mixed (rare in formal docs)

Cite knowledge/patterns/money-and-amount.md. Pick one and stay consistent.

Korean technical writing tone¶

Per knowledge/patterns/technical-writing.md, but for Korean:

Polite imperative¶

English imperative	Korean (~합니다 / 합니다)
"Save the file."	"파일을 저장합니다." (declarative) / "파일을 저장하세요." (imperative)
"Run the command."	"명령어를 실행합니다." / "명령어를 실행하세요."
"Click the button."	"버튼을 클릭하세요."

For instructional docs: imperative ~하세요 is standard. For passive description: ~합니다 (the function does X).

Voice attributes¶

For most product docs: - 차분함 (calm) — no hype. - 명확함 (clarity) — short sentences, one idea each. - 친절함 (kind) — guide the reader, don't lecture.

For Korean fintech / banking docs specifically: - More formal (~합니다). - Conservative palette / typography. - Numbered structure. - Disclaimers + legal language at the end.

Common Korean document errors¶

Particle errors¶

은/는 vs 이/가: subject vs topic. Subtle but matters.
을/를: object marker.
의 (overuse): "사용자의 데이터의 처리" feels stiff. Prefer compound: "사용자 데이터 처리".

Repetition¶

Korean is less tolerant of word repetition than English. Vary verbs, find synonyms.

✗ "이 함수는 데이터를 받아서, 데이터를 처리하고, 데이터를 반환합니다."
✓ "이 함수는 데이터를 받아 처리한 후 결과를 반환합니다."

Direct translation from English¶

Many phrases that are natural in English are awkward in Korean:

Don't translate directly	Use instead
"Make sure to ..."	"반드시 ~합니다."
"Click here to ..."	"이곳을 클릭하면 ~됩니다."
"Note that ..."	"참고: ~", "주의: ~"
"By default, ..."	"기본값은 ~입니다."
"X will ..." (future tense for behavior)	"X가 ~합니다" (present tense, declarative)

Read aloud — if it sounds like a translation, rewrite.

Korean document templates¶

Email — formal business¶

[받는 분 이름] 님,

안녕하세요. [회사명] [부서명] [본인 이름]입니다.

[본문 — 폐쇄형 문장 유지]

검토 후 회신 부탁드립니다.

감사합니다.

[본인 이름]
[직책 / 부서]
[연락처]

Email — friendly product¶

안녕하세요, {{first_name}} 님.

[본문]

감사합니다.
{{Company name}} 드림

Internal Slack / messenger¶

Casual ~해요 acceptable. Bullet points common.

Cross-reference¶

knowledge/i18n/korean-typography.md — type rules
knowledge/i18n/korean-product-conventions.md — broader Korean UX conventions
knowledge/patterns/document-typography.md — visual styling
knowledge/patterns/technical-writing.md — voice rules
knowledge/patterns/report-design.md — report structure
국립국어원 — official Korean language reference