Korean Subtitles for Chinese Videos

Chinese-to-Korean isn't "swap one square script for another." Hangul is phonetic — each syllable packs into a square block that looks like a hanzi but has a completely different internal structure. That produces several concrete subtitle problems.

One: a phonetic script — count line length in syllables

In Hangul (한글), a consonant and vowel combine into one syllable block, some with a final consonant (받침) at the bottom; words are separated by spaces — spacing between words is a habit neither Chinese nor Japanese has.

Length counts by syllables — one hanzi usually maps to one syllable block, but particles, endings and native words add syllables, so Korean lines usually run longer than Chinese. Word spacing also means fewer syllables fit per line, and where to break the space is where Korean layout most often goes wrong. Line breaks aren't free either: never split a syllable block, and never carry one word across two lines.

In practice estimate "around 12 syllables per line, at most two lines" — and be more conservative for vertical video.

Two: honorifics and address — decide speaker and audience first

Korean's honorific system is far more visible than Chinese's; the same sentence changes with the addressee. The most common subtitle failure isn't a wrong choice — it's inconsistency across the video.

Formal polite speech for clients, audiences and superiors; everyday polite speech suits explainers, voiceover and vlog narration and sounds natural; plain speech (반말) is only for friends, juniors and close relations — aimed at the wrong person it reads as an insult.

Forms of address trip more than sentence endings. Korean commonly uses "name or title + honorific suffix": 사장님 (boss, company head), 고객님 (customer), 선배／후배 (senior／junior), 여러분 (everyone) — the suffix never drops. The "you" in Chinese voiceover usually needs rewriting per the speaker-viewer relationship, not a word-for-word match.

Three: loanwords — don't force-translate industry terms

Korean is full of loanwords, especially in tech and marketing; many English words are written phonetically in Korean: 컴퓨터 (computer), 커피 (coffee), 마케팅 (marketing).

Industry-standard English terms usually stay in English or render as loanwords; forcing them into native words makes them unreadable. Keep model numbers and brand names as-is. Chinese proper nouns transliterate into Korean pronunciation — modern Korean body text basically never uses hanja, so personal names, place names and company names all transliterate. Numbers and counters depend on context: counting people or objects uses native numerals, while months, minutes and prices use Sino-Korean numerals — two people is 두 명, March is 삼월.

Four: readability in vertical short video

Vertical frames are narrow, and Korean subtitles carry spaces — one line holds far less than landscape.

Prefer larger font sizes, and use a Korean-capable font — syllable blocks are stroke-dense and blur at small sizes; missing glyphs render as boxes, so check before export. Control line count and screen share: Chinese-Korean bilingual takes two-plus lines, so subtitles mustn't cover the product. Leave safe margins too — vertical platforms overlay UI at the bottom and right, so subtitles shouldn't touch the edges.

Whole video or single file — two routes

For a whole video, upload to SmileSub, pick Korean, and the tool handles recognition, translation and bilingual burn-in, outputting the subtitled final cut — 20 languages translate among each other.

If the subtitle file is already in hand (say, an SRT from your editor), use the free SRT translator to make a Korean version, or the bilingual SRT generator for a Chinese-Korean side-by-side file. Both are no-login, capped at 1MB and 500 cues per file, 3 uses per tool per IP per day.

FAQ

How many characters per line for Korean subtitles?

Common practice: around 12 syllables per line, at most two lines, more conservative for vertical. The standard was never "does it fit" — it's whether the viewer finishes before the subtitle disappears.

Is machine translation enough for Chinese-to-Korean?

For explainers and intros, mostly yes. Word spacing and honorific levels are where MT errs most — have a human check forms of address and sentence endings.

Korean has so many Sino-Korean words — can a Chinese script map directly?

No. Sino-Korean vocabulary has been fully Koreanized in sound and usage, and modern Korean doesn't write hanja; transplanting Chinese written phrases usually reads unnatural.

For Chinese-Korean bilingual subtitles, is the Chinese line necessary?

Depends on use. Korean-audience-only, the Chinese line eats layout; if it also ships to Chinese platforms or needs internal verification, keeping the Chinese line is more convenient.