South Korea Passport Photo Size — 35 × 45 mm

You bring a printed photo, 35 × 45 mm. South Korea passport photo rules read off the issuing authority's own page, checked 2026-08-27.

You bring a printed photo, 35 × 45 mm.

Issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You bring a photo printed on photographic paper — an ordinary paper printout is refused.

What gets a South Korea photo rejected

This authority publishes in Korean. Where we have the original wording we quote it; the rest is our English rendering of the same page. These are the reasons applications actually come back — more often than a wrong measurement.

Taken more than 6 months before the date of application
Head length from crown to chin outside 3.2–3.6 cm
A background that is not white
A background removed or replaced with photo editing software, or a person composited onto a white background
Head length or face size distorted with photo editing software
Printed on ordinary paper rather than photographic paper
Blurred, low-resolution, creased or stained
Hair covering the outline of the face, or a headband covering the crown
Jewellery that reflects light or hides the outline of the face
A toy, object or guardian visible in the frame

How South Korea compares, one rule at a time

Each page below takes a single rule and shows what every authority writes about it, in their own words. This is where South Korea lands on each.

Can you wear jewellery or makeup in a passport photo? — Allowed, with conditions
How old can a passport photo be? — Allowed, with conditions

Which route applies to you

Ordinary route

You bring a printed photo, 35 × 45 mm.

Issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You bring a photo printed on photographic paper — an ordinary paper printout is refused.

Print size	35 × 45 mmofficial wording: “가로 3.5cm X 세로 4.5cm”
Photos required	No official specification
Head height	32–36 mmdoes not follow the ICAO 70–80% rule
Eye line	No official specification
Background	uniform white, free of ink marks
Resolution	300 dpi
Digital file	No official specification

Crop to spec and build a print sheet

You hand printed photos over the counter.

Open the tool with this standard loaded →

Can you just use the ICAO standard?

No. The rule is given in millimetres (32–36 mm), not as an ICAO ratio. Deriving the head size from ICAO can land outside the accepted range.

The 70–80% figure comes from one paragraph of ICAO Doc 9303 Part 3, and it is measured against the passport page rather than your print — what Doc 9303 actually says, quoted in full.

Sources and what we could not verify

여권사진 규격 안내 — 외교부 여권안내 홈페이지 (Ministry of Foreign Affairs passport portal) www.passport.go.kr checked 2026-08-27

not verified: the number of photos required · the eye line · whether 413 × 531 px is enforced for online renewal

Questions people actually ask

Do I need to bring a photo for a South Korea passport application?

Yes. You bring a printed photo, 35 × 45 mm. Issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. You bring a photo printed on photographic paper — an ordinary paper printout is refused.