South Korean won (1945–53)

The won was the first South Korean currency and was in use from August 15, 1945 to February 15, 1953.

Etymology

Won is a cognate of the Chinese yuan and Japanese yen. The won was subdivided into 100 jeon (전; 錢; McCune-Reischauer: chŏn; revised: jeon).

History

Following the end of the Colonial Era and the division of Korea, the won was introduced to replace the Korean yen. The first banknotes were issued by the Bank of Joseon until 1950, when the currency management switched to the Bank of Korea.

At the time of the introduction in 1945 the won was pegged to the Japanese yen at a rate of 1 won = 1 yen. In October of the same year the anchor currency was changed to the US dollar at a rate of 15 won = 1 dollar. Toward the end of the Korean War the won was devalued at 6000 won = 1 dollar.^[1] Following that the hwan was introduced as the new currency at a rate of 1 hwan = 100 won.

Coin

The 1 jeon coin was the only coin in circulation in South Korea at the time. It was not issued by the Bank of Joseon but by the Japanese government as subsidiary money. ^[2]

Banknotes

Bank of Joseon issed notes

The won was subdivided into 100 jeon. Only banknotes were issued. Initially, the won was issued by Bank of Joseon with a similar design to the older notes of the Japanese occupation period. However, there were two subtle and important differences. The new notes replaced the paulownia, the badge of the government of Japan, with the Rose of Sharon, South Korea's national flower; and the clause about exchangeability with the Japanese yen was removed.

Bank of Korea issed notes

On June 12, 1950, the Bank of Korea was established and assumed the duties of Bank of Joseon. The Bank of Joseon's notes were still kept in circulation as not all denominations were replaced by the Bank of Korea's notes.

Bank of Korea issed notes (Korean)
Image		Value	Dimensions	Main Color	Description		Date of		Printer
Obverse	Reverse				Obverse	Reverse	issue	withdrawal
		100 won	158 × 78 mm	brown	Gwanghwamun	Value	July 22, 1950	February 17, 1953	National Printing Bureau (Japan)
		500 won	145 × 61 mm	blue	Lee Sung-man	Pagoda Gongweon in Seoul	October 10, 1952		KOMSEP
		1000 won	171 × 78 mm	green		Value	July 22, 1950		National Printing Bureau
			145 × 61 mm	blue		Pagoda Gongweon in Seoul	October 10, 1952		KOMSEP
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimeter. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

See also

• List of Korea-related topics
• Economy of South Korea
• History of South Korea

References

1. ↑ Kurt Schuler (2004-02-29). "Tables of modern monetary history: Asia". Currency Boards and Dollarization. Retrieved December 7, 2006. 
2. ↑ Bank of Korea. 우리나라의 화폐, 1950년~1953년 (in Korean). Retrieved December 4, 2006. 한국은행은 설립 당시 통용되던 조선은행권 (...), 일본정부의 소액보조화폐(1錢 주화) 등을 승계하고..." → Translation: "The then founded Bank of Korea took over the Bank of Joseon notes circulating at the time (...), as well as the Japanese government's small subsidiary currency (1 jeon coin), and... 

External links

• (Korean) Bank of Korea, 1950-1953 banknotes
• Bank of Korea, A Brief History of Korean Currency
• Bank of Korea, Currency Issue System
• National Printing Bureau