South Korea Visa Photo Requirements
The size most of the world uses, with two catches: your consulate has the final word, and a K-ETA is not a visa.
A South Korean visa photo is 35 x 45mm, with your face measuring roughly 25 to 35mm from chin to crown, on a plain, light, evenly-lit background. In pixels that is 413 x 531 at 300 DPI. Two things complicate the simple answer, and both get photos sent back: Korean consulates state that acceptance is at their own discretion, with some also accepting a 2 x 2 inch photo, and a K-ETA - which travellers routinely confuse with a visa - is a separate application with its own rules.
This covers the photo for a South Korean consular visa. For why a visa photo and a passport photo are rarely the same job, see visa photos are not passport photos; for how the same size travels across borders, passport photo size by country.
What size is a South Korea visa photo?
35 x 45mm - the size most of the world uses for ID photos, which is why one correctly-made 35 x 45mm photo often carries across several applications. Korean missions put the face at 25 to 35mm from chin to crown. At 300 DPI that print size is 413 x 531 pixels, which is what a digital upload or a printed copy should come to.
Work from the mission handling your case rather than a generic figure. The Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs page for the Los Angeles consulate states "size 35 x 45 mm, with a length of full face 25 x 35 mm", and the Finland mission states the same size as "3.5cm x 4.5cm". Same photo, described two ways.
The background: light and plain, colour unstated
Korean missions word the backdrop differently - some say "plain, evenly lit and light", others "plain white or off-white" - but those agree in practice: a clean white or very light grey background satisfies both. No shadow on the wall behind you, nothing patterned. If your photo has a busy background, fix that before you size it, not after.
A K-ETA is not a visa
K-ETA is a travel authorisation, not a visa, and it is a separate application with its own photo requirement. One does not satisfy the other. Many visa-exempt travellers need only a K-ETA and no consular visa at all; if you genuinely need the visa, this is the photo for it - do not assume a K-ETA photo will pass a consular application, or the reverse.
Will 35 x 45mm always be accepted?
It is the standard Korean consular size, but the honest answer is that your consulate has the final word. Korean missions state acceptance is at the discretion of the embassy or consulate where you apply, and some consulates additionally accept a 2 x 2 inch photo. Read the checklist published by the specific mission handling your application before you print. Many of the reasons a photo gets refused are shared across countries, and why passport photos get rejected gathers them.
How to size your photo
Once you know your mission wants 35 x 45mm, the South Korea visa photo maker crops and resizes to it in your browser, with nothing uploaded. You position a ratio-locked crop box over your face and it outputs 413 x 531 pixels - 35 x 45mm at 300 DPI.
Be clear about what it does and does not do. It sets the shape and the pixel dimensions, and fills white behind a photo whose background has already been removed. It does not judge whether your head sits at the right height, replace a busy backdrop, or promise a consular officer will accept the result - check the framing, background, and expression against your mission's list yourself. To compare requirements across countries, the visa photo maker hub lists only those verified against their own issuing authority, including China and Japan.
FAQ
What size is a South Korea visa photo?
35 x 45mm, with the face 25 to 35mm from chin to crown, on a plain light background. That is 413 x 531 pixels at 300 DPI, which is what this tool outputs.
Is a K-ETA photo the same as a visa photo?
No. K-ETA is a travel authorisation applied for separately, with its own requirements. This tool makes the consular visa photo - do not assume one satisfies the other.
Will a 2 x 2 inch photo be accepted?
At some consulates, yes. Korean missions state acceptance is at their discretion, and some also accept 2 x 2 inch photos. 35 x 45mm is the standard, but check the mission handling your application.
White or off-white background?
Either. Korean missions describe it differently - some say plain, evenly lit and light; others say plain white or off-white - and a clean white or very light grey backdrop meets both.
Is my photo uploaded anywhere?
No. The crop and resize run in your browser using the Canvas API, so your photo never leaves your device.