Certified Translation of the Korean Former Family Register (제적등본)
The 제적등본 is a copy of the former Korean family register, closed on 1 January 2008. It carries births, marriages and deaths before that date — and unlike the current certificates, it exists in no English version at all. Asiatis produces its certified translation.
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Get my quote onlineAlso known as
제적등본 — jejeok deungbon · jejeok deungbon · 제적초본 · 호적등본 · hojeok · former family register Korea · closed family register Korea · ancien registre familial coréen · traduction hojeok Corée IRCC
What is the jejeok deungbon?
Until 1 January 2008, Korean civil status rested on the 호적, a family register organized around a head of family and his line. The reform replaced it with an individual register, and the old registers were closed — hence their name 제적, "removed register". They remain issuable, and they remain necessary: everything that happened before 2008 appears there, sometimes only there. The document reads right to left, mixes hangul and Chinese characters for names and places, and dates events by several successive conventions. It is the most demanding Korean document to translate, and the one a sponsorship or succession file cannot do without.
Variants of the document
| Name | Type | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| 제적등본jejeok deungbon | Full copy | Covers the whole closed register, everyone who was entered in it. This is the version to request to establish parentage or a succession. |
| 제적초본jejeok chobon | Extract | Covers one person only. Shorter, but it does not show the other members of the register — so not the links you are usually trying to prove. |
| 호적등본hojeok deungbon | Former title | The name the document bore before the registers were closed. A copy issued before 2008 carries this title: it is the same document. |
How to obtain the document in South Korea
- 1
Request it from a civil status office or online
Closed registers remain issuable by Korean administrative offices and by the Supreme Court's electronic family register system. From abroad, the request goes through a Korean diplomatic mission or a proxy.
- 2
Ask for the full copy
The extract shows only one person. If you are trying to establish a link — parentage, siblings, succession — you need the full copy, since the link is read from people appearing together in the register.
- 3
Know that no English version exists
Certificates from the current register have a free English version; the closed register has none, and will have none. Translation is the only route.
- 4
Send us every page
A closed register often runs to several leaves, some of which look blank but carry marginal entries. Scan everything, in order, reverse sides included.
What an acceptable translation requires
IRCC requires any document that is not in English or French to be accompanied by a translation into one of those two languages. The translation must be complete — headings, marginal entries, names in Chinese characters and seals included — and may not be produced by the applicant, by a family member, or by a representative on the application. Asiatis assigns your register to a certified translator who is a member of a Canadian professional order: the translation carries that translator's signed and sealed declaration. For a Quebec immigration application, the MIFI admits French and English alike, provided the translator belongs to OTTIAQ, ATIO, STIBC or CTINB.
The pitfalls specific to this document
No English version, unlike the current register
Many people search in vain for the English equivalent of the 제적등본, because certificates from the current register have one. It does not exist. Time spent looking for it is time lost on the application.
The names are in Chinese characters
A closed register often carries names of people and places in hanja, not hangul. Reading them is not mechanical, and an approximate reading produces a name that no longer matches the passport.
The structure assumes a head of family
The former register is organized around the 호주 and his line. Relationships are expressed relative to him, not between people pairwise: transposing them silently produces parentage the document does not assert.
Dates follow several conventions
Depending on the period, a closed register dates events by the Dangi era, the Japanese era or the Gregorian calendar, sometimes by the lunar calendar. Each date must be converted knowing which one is in play.
What you receive
- Complete certified translation, marginal entries included
- Names in Chinese characters read and romanized to match your passport
- Dates converted to the Gregorian calendar, original convention stated
- Family relationships rendered as the register expresses them, without extrapolation
- Translator's signed and sealed declaration, meeting IRCC requirements
Pricing depends on the number of pages in your document. Get your quote online in a few minutes.
Get my quote onlineFrequently asked questions
Is there an English version of the 제적등본?
No, and there will not be. Korea issues English versions of certificates from the current register, but not of registers closed before 2008. For this document, certified translation is the only route.
How much does it cost to translate my 제적등본?
The price depends on the number of leaves, and a closed register often runs to more than people expect. Upload the document to our online quote form: the price is worked out on what you send, in a few minutes.
Get my quote onlineWhy am I asked for this rather than the 가족관계증명서?
Because what you need to prove happened before 2008. The current register does not carry everything over: births, marriages and deaths before that date appear in the closed register, sometimes only there.
Full copy or extract?
The full copy, unless told otherwise. The extract shows only one person, whereas a family relationship is read from people appearing together in the same register.
My register is in Chinese characters. Can you translate it?
Yes. That is the usual case for a closed register, and it is part of what makes the document difficult: names and places are in hanja. We read them and romanize them to match your passport.