The History of South Korean Currency

The History of South Korean Currency

 

 

Japan opened its branch office in Busan, a city in southern part of Korea, in 1878 and started to circulate its banknotes in Korea in 1902 without consent from King Gojong, the Korean monarch of the time. The Korean citizens waged a movement against the circulation of Japanese currency but failed to stop the circulation, because the Japanese government hampered the movements (The Korean Peninsula was annexed by Japan from 1910 to 1945).

 

the banknotes the Japanese bank issued in Korea in late 19^th and early 20^th century

 

Bank of Korea issued various banknotes and coins since its establishment on June 12, 1950. It issued its very first banknotes during the Korean War, which broke out in 1950 and ended with an armistice in 1953. The Bank of Korea lowered the currency rate to a ratio of 100:1 in 1953, in order to mitigate depreciation and inflation, which were wrought by the war. It also changed the currency unit from “won” to “hwan.” In 1962, the bank redenominated the currency at a ratio of 10:1 as part of its economic development plan and shifted the currency unit back to “won.” As the South Korean economy later began to thrive as prices rose, it issued 10,000 won notes in 1973 and 50,000 won notes in 2009.

 

Bank of Korea banknotes in early 1960s (the currency unit is “hwan”)

 

 

Bank of Korea notes in early 1960s (currency unit is won in this photo, before the unit shifted to hwan) 

 

The image above is the 50 won, 100 won, and 500 won currencies used in the early 1960s. It is kind of cool, if you consider how that 50 won, 100 won and 500 won now all exist in coins, not paper money.

The photo above illustrates the change of the Korean currency unit over the course of modern history. The unit used to be “yang” (兩) before 1876, when Korea opened its ports to Western powers and began trade with them. As Korea fell under the influence of Japan in 1905 (due to the ratification of Eulsa Treaty, which deprived Korea of its diplomatic rights), it started to use the “won” (圓) as its currency unit. It shifted the unit to “hwan” 환(圜) through the second currency reform of 1953. The unit again changed to “won” (원) in the third currency reform of 1962, which remains in use to this day. Unlike the previous units, this current unit is marked in only Korean characters and not in Chinese.

 

Money used before the ones with enhanced anti-counterfeit features were issued in 2000s

 

Since color photocopiers, scanners, and other computer-related devices became prevalent in the 1990s, the number of counterfeit money drastically increased. As a result, the Bank of Korea added and expanded the anti-counterfeit features on its banknotes. It issued new 5,000-won notes in 2006 and new 10,000-won and 1,000-won notes in 2007. For the first time in Korean history, it issued 50,000-won notes in 2009, with further enhanced anti-counterfeit features.

 

We have so far gone through the history of Korean currency. Currency reflects the history of the country. Korean currency has changed depending on the political, historical, and economical situation of the time period. The currency that we are now using will one day become historical artifacts. We will need to know more about and value our currency more.

본 글은 한걸음 기자단 개인의 의견으로 대한민국역사박물관의 편집 의도와 다를 수 있습니다