HWP

HWP most commonly refers to Hangul Word Processor, a word processing program developed by Hangul & Computer (later Hancom) in South Korea. It became a widely used standard for creating and archiving Korean documents, especially in government, education, and business sectors. The software uses its native file format with the .hwp extension and is noted for strong support of Korean typography, layout, and table features. Over time, Hancom introduced an XML-based successor format, known as HWPX, to improve interoperability.

In modern Hancom Office releases, users can work with both HWP and HWPX formats, with options to export or convert documents to Microsoft Word, PDF, and other widely supported formats. HWP files are supported on multiple platforms, including Windows and macOS, along with related mobile apps and cloud-based solutions. While global adoption of Microsoft Office has risen, HWP remains prevalent in Korea for official documents and legacy archives.

Open-source and third-party tools exist to view, convert, or partially edit HWP files, though compatibility can vary depending on the version and features used in the original document. The HWP ecosystem continues to evolve with ongoing development of the HWPX format and interoperability efforts.

Aside from Hangul Word Processor, the acronym HWP can have other meanings in different contexts; however, in information technology and document processing, Hangul Word Processor is the primary association.