Korean hardsubs to an English SRT, from dramas and variety shows
Korean shows often carry Korean captions printed into the picture with no file behind them. Upload the video, and the Korean lines are read from the frames, translated into English cue by cue and returned as SRT and VTT, with a Korean SRT alongside. A video of up to 5 minutes is free. A longer one is $5, paid once, for up to 3 hours.
- Korean read from the picture, then translated into English on the same timings
- A second SRT with the Korean as it appeared, Hangul kept as printed
- Bottom or top of the frame, whichever holds the main captions
- Decorative variety captions may be read or left out
- One video per job, up to 3 hours for $5, 6 on Unlimited
Dramas versus variety shows
A Korean drama usually shows dialogue in a steady band at the bottom, one or two lines at a time. That is the easy case: each line becomes a cue, and each cue becomes an English line with the same start and end.
Variety shows are different. The editors add large colorful captions, sound-effect words, name tags and jokes in bubbles all over the frame. Those are graphics, not subtitles. The reader is told to keep subtitles and ignore on-screen text that belongs to the scene, so many of these captions are left out. Some that look like a subtitle in shape and place may still be read. Expect the English file to follow the spoken-line captions and treat the rest as a bonus, not a promise.
Pick the right area of the frame
Only one horizontal band is read per job: the lower or the upper part of the picture, roughly a third of its height. Most dramas put captions at the bottom. Some variety programs and live music shows put the main lines at the top. Pause the video on a typical line, see where it sits, and choose bottom or top to match. Text that floats in the middle of the screen is outside both bands.
What the English file looks like
- One English cue for every Korean caption, starting and ending when the Korean appears and disappears
- Times within about half a second, and cues never overlap
- Choose Bilingual instead if you want Korean above English inside each cue
- The Korean SRT comes in the same download, useful for checking a doubtful line
- Translation is done by an AI model; read it as a draft, especially jokes and wordplay
How the tool works, what it costs and how your files are handled is on the Extract Hardcoded Subtitles page; prices for every tool are on the pricing page.
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Questions and answers
Can ChatGPT translate the Korean captions in my video?
Paste a screenshot and it will read and translate that one caption well. A full episode means hundreds of screenshots, and the timing of each line is lost, so you end up with text, not a subtitle file. Here the video is read frame by frame and every English line keeps its timing.
How much is one episode?
Up to 5 minutes is free in full. A longer episode costs $5, one payment, for up to 3 hours. With Unlimited at $19 a week, one job can hold up to 6 hours.
Will it read the cute captions and sound effects in variety shows?
Not reliably. They are graphics, and the reader aims to skip on-screen text that is not dialogue. Some may appear in the file, many will not.
The captions are at the top of my video. Does that work?
Yes. Choose the top area before you start. One job reads one area, so a video with captions in both places needs two jobs.
Can I get another language than English?
Yes. Pick any of the 81 target languages before uploading. This page only preselects English.
Is my upload kept private?
The job opens only for you. Frames are sent to an AI model provider just to be read, not to train models. Without an account the job is deleted after 7 days, and you can delete it earlier.