History of Korean Currencies
Who are the people on Korean bill?
The woman on the bill is Shin Saimdang of the Joseon era. Due to her filial devotion to her parents and love for children, Shin Saimdang has been held up as a model of Confucian ideals.
Before the 50,000 note was released in 2009, the 10,000 won notes was the highest denomination in South Korea.
The person portrayed on the green 10,000 won bill is Sejeong the Greatm the famous king of Joseon.
King Joseon is credited with establishing much of what we think of as Korean culture, and he also created the Korean alphabet, hangul.
The person printed on the organ 5,000 won bill is the son of Shin Saimdang who we saw earlier on the 50,000 won bill.
Yi I was a Korean philosopher who had a huge influence on Confucianism and philosophy in Korea.
The star of the blue 1,000 won bill is the Confucian scholar Yi Hwang. He was one of the two most prominent scholars of the Joseon dynasty, the other being Yi I.
Yi Hwang was a master of calligraphy band poetry, and was known as a scholar who wasn’t concerned with either money or status.
The 500 won coin in circulation today made its appearance at the beginning of the 1980s. Actually, 500 bills were printed until May 12, 1993, but it slowly disappeared.
The old 500 won note feature admiral Yi Sun-Sin of Joseon Korea.
The Korean hero, Yi Sun-shin (previously found on the old 500 won bill), is depicted on the 100 won coin which is in circulation today.
Bills were printed for the 100 won denomination until December 1, 1980.
A stalk of rice is printed on the current and the previous series of the 50 won coin.
500 won was printed as a bill until 1973. However, the 5,000 won bill had been introduced the previous year, and this was the beginning of inflation which saw both bill denominations and market prices rise.
The values of Korean money had fluctuated a lot throughout history, but after introducing a stronger monetary policy in 1962, it finally began to stabilize.
10-won coin has through several series had the Dabotap Pagoda printed on it. The original red-brown color was changed to more a yellow nuance in 1983.
However, the cost of minting this version was too high, so they changed the color again in 2006 to a light brown. Because of their low value, 10-won coins are not that frequently used.
The 5-won and 1-won coins share a lot of history.
With economic development, inflation, and the introduction of higher denominations, the cost of producing lesser coins came to exceed the face value of the coins.
In the 60s, both 5-won and 1-won were also found as bills, but you can’t buy anything with a 1 coin these days.
