North Korean won
| 조선민주주의인민공화국 원 Template:Ko icon 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國圓 (Korean Hanja) | |
|---|---|
| ISO 4217 | |
| Code | KPW (numeric: 408) |
| Subunit | 0.01 |
| Unit | |
| Plural | The language(s) of this currency do(es) not have a morphological plural distinction. |
| Symbol | ₩ |
| Denominations | |
| Subunit | |
| 1/100 | chŏn (전/錢) |
| Banknotes | ₩1, ₩5, ₩10, ₩50, ₩100, ₩200, ₩500, ₩1000, ₩5000 |
| Coins | ₩10, ₩50, ₩100 |
| Demographics | |
| User(s) |  Democratic People's Republic of Korea |
| Issuance | |
| Central bank | Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea |
The wŏn (sign: ₩; code: KPW) is the currency of North Korea. It is subdivided into 100 chŏn. The wŏn is issued by the Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Etymology
Wŏn is a cognate of the Chinese yuan and Japanese yen. The wŏn was subdivided into 100 chŏn (전; 錢; McCune-Reischauer: chŏn; Revised Romanization: jeon).
History
The wŏn became the currency of North Korea on December 6, 1947, replacing the Korean yen that was still in circulation. It was revalued at a rate of one hundred to one in 1959. For the earlier Korean wŏn, see Korean wŏn.
North Korean wŏn are intended exclusively for North Korean citizens, and the Bank of Trade (무역은행) issued a separate currency (or foreign exchange certificates) for visitors, like many other socialist states. However, North Korea made 2 varieties of foreign exchange certificates, one for visitors from "socialist countries" which were coloured red, and the other for visitors from "capitalist countries" which were coloured blue/green. In recent times, FECs have been largely deprecated in favor of visitors paying directly with hard currency, especially the euro.
Since 2001, the North Korean government has abandoned the iconic rate of 2.16 wŏn to the dollar (which is said[by whom?] to have been based upon Kim Jong-il's birthday, February 16) and banks in the country now issue at rates closer to the black market rate. A more recent official rate has shown the North Korean won to be 142.45 to the dollar. However, rampant inflation has been eroding the North Korean wŏn's value to such an extent that currently it is believed to be worth about the same as the South Korean wŏn. In any case, the U.S. dollar and other currencies are still worth more in North Korean wŏn on the black market than officially. This is also apparent when one examines the dates of issue or series of the different denominations of banknotes (see below).
Coins
Older coins for circulation were the 1, 5, 10 and 50 chon along with the 1 won. All of there issues were made in Aluminium. Current coins in circulation are:
| Currently Circulating Coins | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | Technical parameters | Description | Date of minted year | ||||
| Diameter | Composition | Obverse | Reverse |
Bank title, Coat of arms, value, year of minting | |||
| ₩10 | 23 mm | 2005 | N/A | N/A | |||
| ₩50 | 25 mm | 2005 | N/A | N/A | |||
| ₩100 | 27 mm | 2005 | N/A | N/A[[File:]] | |||
| For table standards, see the coin specification table. | |||||||
During the Cold War there was a special system of marking coins for different groups of people. Coins with no stars were for North Koreans, coins with 1 star were for "socialist visitors", and coins with 2 stars were for "capitalist visitors". Besides the circulating coins, there's an abundance of different commemorative coins minted in the name of the DPRK. Most, if not all of them are sold to foreign numismatists.
Banknotes
As explained above, there are two varieties of foreign certificates. For the 1978 banknote series, foreign certificates were implemented by overstamp and serial number color:
| Variation of the 1978 Series | ||
|---|---|---|
| Overstamp | Serial number color | Target users |
| None | 1 red, 1 black | General circulation |
| Green with Korean text | 2 black | Socialist visitors |
| Green with Korean text | 2 red | Capitalist visitors |
| Red with numeral | 2 red | Replaced the original unstamped notes |
| Blue with numeral | 2 black | Unknown |
In 1988, the Bank of Trade (무역은행) (as opposed to the Central Bank) issued 2 unique series of foreign certificates. They both included 1 chŏn, 5 chŏn, 10 chŏn, 50 chŏn, ₩1, ₩5, ₩10, and ₩50. The series for "capitalist visitors" was blue-green, while the series for "socialist visitors" was pink. The chŏn notes had a simple design of patterns and the values, while the socialist wŏn notes depict the International Friendship Exhibition, and the capitalist wŏn notes depict the Chollima statue.
Banknotes in circulation are
| 1992 Series | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Value | Dimensions | Main Color | Description | Date of issue | ||
| Obverse | Reverse | Watermark | ||||
| ₩1 | 116 × 55 mm | Green | Young woman with flowers | Mount Kumgang | Chollima statue | 1992 |
| ₩5 | 126 × 60 mm | Blue | Students with a globe | Grand People's Study House | 1992, 1998 | |
| ₩10 | 136 × 65 mm | Brown-orange | Factory worker, Chollima statue | Flood gates | ||
| ₩50 | 146 × 70 mm | Orange | Young professionals, Juche Tower | Landscape | Juche Tower | 1992 |
| ₩100 | 156 × 75 mm | Red and brown | Kim Il-sung | The birthplace of Kim Il-sung, Mangyongdae | Arch of Triumph | 1992 |
| ₩200 | 140 × 72 mm | Blue and green | Flowers | Value | Chollima statue | 2005 |
| ₩500 | 156 × 75 mm | Dark green | Kumsusan Memorial Palace | Suspension bridge | Arch of Triumph | 1998 |
| ₩1000 | Green-cyan | Kim Il-sung | The birthplace of Kim Il-sung, Mangyongdae | 2002 | ||
| ₩5000 | Violet | |||||
| For table standards, see the banknote specification table. | ||||||
Unusually, the 100, 1,000 and 5,000 wŏn bills are of essentially the same basic design, portraying the exact same subjects (although they are coloured differently). North Korea has in the past issued whole series of foreign exchange certificates in which the designs are exactly the same, right down to colour, only the denomination being different.
In October of 2002, a new 10,000 Won note was introduced. [1]
| Current KPW exchange rates | |
|---|---|
| From Google Finance: | AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD |
| From Yahoo! Finance: | AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD |
| From XE.com: | AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD |
| From OANDA: | AUD CAD CHF CNY EUR GBP HKD JPY USD |
Note: Rates obtained from these websites could be substantially different from black market rate
See also
References
- Schuler, Kurt. "Tables of Modern Monetary History: Asia".
- Cuhaj, George S. (editor) (2005). Standard Catalog of World Paper Money: Modern Issues 1961-Date (11th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0-89689-160-7.
{{cite book}}:|author1=has generic name (help) - Krause, Chester L.; Clifford Mishler (2003). 2004 Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1901–Present. Colin R. Bruce II (senior editor) (31st ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873495934.
External links
| Preceded by: Korean yen Reason: Division of Korea and moving toward a full sovereign nation from Allied occupation |
Currency of South Korea 1945 – 1959 |
Succeeded by: New wŏn Reason: inflation Ratio: 1 new wŏn = 100 old wŏn |
| Preceded by: Old wŏn Reason: inflation Ratio: 1 new wŏn = 100 old wŏn |
Currency of North Korea 1959 – |
Succeeded by: Current |