South Korea Passport photo requirements

South Korean passport photo requirements, in plain English

South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) follows the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standard, and its rules are strict on two fronts in particular: the expression must be fully neutral, and the photo must be an original, unedited capture — no filters, no AI processing, and no background replacement. Every rule below comes straight from MOFA's official passport photo page (passport.go.kr).

Size, head height, and position

The photo must be 35×45 mm (3.5×4.5 cm). Within it, your head must measure 32–36 mm from the top of your head — measured at the crown, excluding hair — down to your chin. Your face and shoulders must face straight forward (no profile or angled poses), and your entire face from forehead to chin, including the face contour, must be visible. For online applications, MOFA recommends a 413×531 pixel file at 300 DPI.

Expression — fully neutral, no smiling

Korea does not allow smiling. Keep a neutral expression with your mouth closed — no teeth showing and no raised eyebrows — and look straight at the camera.

Glasses and contact lenses

Sunglasses, tinted or colored glasses, and cosmetic/colored/circle contact lenses are not allowed. Ordinary clear prescription glasses are permitted only if there is no light reflection on the lenses and your eyes remain clearly visible.

Head coverings and hats

The photo must be bare-headed — no hats, caps, headbands, or head coverings. The only exception is religious headwear worn daily in ordinary life, and even then the full face from forehead to chin must remain visible.

Hair, ears, and accessories

Your hair must not cover your eyes, eyebrows, or facial contour (cheekbones and cheeks). Earrings, piercings, or other accessories are not accepted if they reflect light or obscure the outline of your face, and earphones, headphones, or wireless hands-free devices must not be worn. The full face must be exposed.

Lighting, shadows, and red-eye

Use appropriate lighting so there are no shadows or light reflections on either you or the background. Your eyes must be open naturally with no red-eye; a small catch-light reflection in the eyes is acceptable as long as you remain clearly identifiable. The photo must be sharp (300 DPI recommended) — blurry or pixelated low-resolution photos are rejected.

Background

The background must be a uniform white, with no ink marks and no border. Crucially, Korea rejects any photo where the background has been erased or the subject composited onto a white background — the white background must be real, captured in the original photo.

Editing and authenticity

This is where Korea is unusually strict: photos corrected with editing software or filters, or edited, processed, composited, or generated using AI, are not accepted. Submit an original, unedited color photo taken within the last 6 months before your application, printed on glossy or matte photo paper if a physical print is required.