South Korean won

The South Korean won, sometimes known as the Republic of Korea won (symbol: ₩; code: KRW; ), is the official currency of South Korea.

Each won (the base unit) is technically divided into 100 jeon, but the jeon is no longer used for everyday transactions and appears only in foreign exchange rates. The currency is issued by the Bank of Korea, based in the capital city of Seoul. The South Korean won was first issued in 1949, then was replaced by the South Korean hwan between 1953 and 1962, before the adoption of the current South Korean won in 1962.

Etymology

The old "won" was a cognate of the Chinese yuan, which was derived from the Spanish-American silver dollar. It is derived from the hanja (, ), meaning , which describes the shape of the silver dollar.

The won was subdivided into 100 (), itself a cognate of the East Asian unit of weight mace and synonymous with money in general. The current won (1962 to present) is written in hangul only and does not officially have any hanja associated with it.

First South Korean won

History The Korean won, Chinese yuan and Japanese yen were all derived from the Spanish-American silver dollar, a coin widely used for international trade between Asia and the Americas from the 16th to 19th centuries.

During the colonial era under the Japanese (1910–45), the won was replaced by the Korean yen which was at par with the Japanese yen.

After World War II ended in 1945, Korea was divided, resulting in two separate currencies, both called won, for the South and the North. Both the Southern won and the Northern won replaced the yen at par. The first South Korean won was subdivided into 100 jeon.

The South Korean won initially had a fixed exchange rate to the U.S. dollar at a rate of 15 won to 1 dollar. A series of devaluations followed, the later ones, in part, due to the Korean War (1950–53). The pegs were:

+Pegs for the first South Korean wonDate introducedValue of U.S. dollar in wonOctober 194515July 15, 194750October 1, 1948450June 14, 1949900 (non-government transactions only)May 1, 19501,800November 1, 19502,500April 1, 19516,000

The first South Korean won was replaced by the hwan on February 15, 1953, at a rate of 1 hwan = 100 won.

Banknotes In 1946, the Bank of Joseon introduced 10 and 100 won notes. These were followed in 1949 by 5 and 1,000 won notes.

A new central bank, the Bank of Korea, was established on June 12, 1950, and assumed the duties of Bank of Joseon. Notes were introduced (some dated 1949) in denominations of 5, 10 and 50 jeon, and 100 and 1,000 won. The 500 won notes were introduced in 1952. In 1953, a series of banknotes was issued which, although it gave the denominations in English in won, were, in fact, the first issues of the hwan.

Second South Korean won History The won was reintroduced on June 10, 1962, at a rate of 1 won = 10 hwan. It became the sole legal tender on March 22, 1975, with the withdrawal of the last circulating hwan coins. Its ISO 4217 code is KRW. At the reintroduction of the won in 1962, its value was pegged at 125 won = . The following pegs operated between 1962 and 1980:

+Pegs for the second South Korean wonDate introducedValue of U.S. dollar in wonJune 10, 1962125May 3, 1964255August 3, 1972400December 7, 1974480January 12, 1980580

On February 27, 1980, efforts were initiated to lead to a floating exchange rate. The won was allowed to float on December 24, 1997, when an agreement was signed with the International Monetary Fund. Shortly after, the won was devalued by almost half, as part of the 1997 Asian financial crisis.

Coins Until 1966, 10 and 50 hwan coins, revalued as 1 and 5 won, were the only coins in circulation. New coins, denominated in won, were introduced by the Bank of Korea on August 16, 1966, in denominations of 1, 5 and 10 won, with the 1 won struck in brass and the 5 and 10 won in bronze. These were the first South Korean coins to display the date in the Gregorian calendar, earlier coins having used the Korean calendar. The 10 and 50 hwan coins were demonetized on March 22, 1975.

In 1968, as the intrinsic value of the brass 1 won coin far surpassed its face value, new aluminium 1 won coins were issued to replace them. As an attempt to further reduce currency production costs, new 5 and 10 won coins were issued in 1970, struck in brass. Cupronickel 100 won coins were also introduced that year, followed by cupronickel 50 won coins in 1972.

1966–1982 issued coins Image Value Technical parameters Description Date of BOK series designation Obverse Reverse Diameter Mass Composition Edge Obverse Reverse First minting Issue Issue Suspended ₩1 17.2 mm 1.7 g Brass60% copper 40% zinc Plain Rose of Sharon, value, bank title (hangul) Value (digit), bank title, year of minting 1966 August 16, 1966 December 1, 1980 Series I () ₩1 17.2 mm 0.729 g 100% aluminium Plain Rose of Sharon, value, bank title (hangul) Value (digit), bank title, year of minting 1968 August 26, 1968 1992 Series II () ₩5 20.4 mm 3.09 g Commercial bronze88% copper12% zinc Plain Geobukseon, value, bank title (hangul) Value (digit), bank title, year of minting 1966 August 16, 1966 1992 Series I () ₩5 20.4 mm 2.95 g High brass65% copper35% zinc Plain Geobukseon, value, bank title (hangul) Value (digit), bank title, year of minting 1970 July 16, 1970 1992 Series II () ₩10 22.86 mm 4.22 g Commercial bronze88% copper12% zinc Plain Dabotap Pagoda, value, bank title (hangul) Value (digit), bank title, year of minting 1966 August 16, 1966 Still circulating Series I () ₩10 22.86 mm 4.06 g High brass65% copper35% zinc Plain Dabotap Pagoda, value, bank title (hangul) Value (digit), bank title, year of minting 1970 July 16, 1970 Still circulating Series II () ₩50 21.6 mm 4.16 g 70% copper18% zinc12% nickel Reeded Stalk of rice, value (hangul) Value (digit), bank title (hangul), year of minting 1972 December 1, 1972 Still circulating Series I () ₩100 24 mm 5.42 g Cupronickel75% copper25% nickel Yi Sun-sin, value, bank title (hangul) Value (digit), year of minting 1970 November 30, 1970

In 1982, with inflation and the increasing popularity of vending machines, 500 won coins were introduced on June 12, 1982. In January 1983, with the purpose of standardizing the coinage, a new series of 1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 won coins was issued, using the same layout as the 500 won coins, but conserving the coins' old themes.

1982–2006 issued coins Image Value Technical parameters Description Date of BOK series designation Obverse Reverse Diameter Mass Composition Edge Obverse Reverse First minting Issue 17.2 mm 0.729 g 100% aluminium Plain Rose of Sharon, value (hangul) Value (digit), bank title, year of minting 1983 January 15, 1983 Series III () 20.4 mm 2.95 g High brass65% copper35% zinc Plain Geobukseon, value (hangul) Value (digit), bank title, year of minting 1983 January 15, 1983 Series III () ₩10 22.86 mm 4.06 g Dabotap Pagoda, value (hangul)

Current coins Image Value Technical parameters Description Date of BOK series designation Obverse Reverse Diameter Mass Composition Edge Obverse Reverse First minting Issue 18 mm 1.22 g Copper-plated aluminium48% copper52% aluminium Plain Dabotap pagoda, value (hangul) Value (digit), bank title, year of minting 2006 December 18, 2006 Series IV () 21.6 mm 4.16 g 70% copper18% zinc12% nickel Reeded Stalk of rice, value (hangul) Value (digit), bank title, year of minting 1983 January 15, 1983 Series II () 24 mm 5.42 gCupronickel75% copper25% nickel Yi Sun-sin, value (hangul) ₩500 26.5 mm 7.7 g Red-crowned crane, value (hangul) 1982 June 12, 1982 Series I ()

The Bank of Korea announced in early 2006 its intention to redesign the 10 won coin by the end of that year. With the increasing cost of production, then at 38 won per 10 won coin, and rumors that some people had been melting the coins to make jewelry, the redesign was needed to make the coin more cost-effective to produce. The new coin is made of copper-coated aluminium with a reduced diameter of , and a weight of . Its visual design is the same as the old coin. The new coin was issued on December 18, 2006.

The 1 and 5 won coins are rarely in circulation since 1992, and prices of consumer goods are rounded to the nearest 10 won. However, they are still in production, minting limited amounts of these two coins every year, for the Bank of Korea's annual mint sets.Bank of Korea Mint Sets - 한국은행 민트 세트 Dokdo Research (dokdoresearch.com). Retrieved on July 5, 2017. In 1998, the production costs per coin were: 10 won coins each cost 35 won to produce, 100 won coins cost 58 won, and 500 won coins cost 77 won.

Banknotes The Bank of Korea designates banknote and coin series in a unique way. Instead of putting those of similar design and issue dates in the same series, it assigns series number X to the Xth design of a given denomination. The series numbers are expressed with Korean letters used in alphabetical order, e.g. . Therefore, 1,000 won issued in 1983 is series II () because it is the second design of all 1,000 won designs since the introduction of the South Korean won in 1962.

In 1962, 10 and 50 jeon, 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 won notes were introduced by the Bank of Korea. The first issue of 1, 5, 10, 50, 100 and 500 won notes was printed in the UK by Thomas De La Rue. The jeon notes together with a second issue of 10 and 100 won notes were printed domestically by the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation.

In 1965, 100 won notes (series III) were printed using intaglio printing techniques, for the first time on domestically printed notes, to reduce counterfeiting. Replacements for the British 500 won notes followed in 1966, also using intaglio printing, and for the 50 won notes in 1969 using lithoprinting.

1962 Thomas De La Rue Series Image Value Dimensions Main color Description Date of BOK series designation Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse Issue Issue Suspended ₩1 94 × 50 mm Pink Bank of Korea's symbol Value June 10, 1962 May 20, 1970 None ₩5 Blue May 1, 1969 ₩10 108 × 54 mm Green September 1, 1962 Series I () ₩50 156 × 66 mm Orange Haegeumgang near Geoje Torch, value May 20, 1970 ₩100 Green Independence Gate (Dongnimmun) February 14, 1969 ₩500 Grey Namdaemun February 3, 1967 1962–1969 KOMSCO Series 10 jeon 90 × 50 mm Blue"Bank of Korea" and value (Korean)"Bank of Korea" and value (English) December 1, 1962 December 1, 1980 None 50 jeon Brown ₩10 140 × 63 mm Purple Cheomseongdae Geobukseon September 21, 1962 October 30, 1973 Series II () ₩50 149 × 64 mm Green and orange / blue Tapgol Park in Seoul Beacon, Rose of Sharon March 21, 1969 ₩100 156 × 66 mm Green Independence Gate Gyeonghoeru Pavilion at Gyeongbokgung November 1, 1962 Sejong the Great Main building of the Bank of Korea August 14, 1965 December 1, 1980 Series III () ₩500 165 × 73 mm Brown Namdaemun Geobukseon August 16, 1966 May 10, 1975 Series II ()

With the economic development from the 1960s, the value of the 500 won notes fell, resulting in a greater use of cashier's checks with higher fixed denominations as means of payment, as well as an increased use of counterfeited ones. In 1970, the 100 won notes were replaced by coins, with the same happening to the 50 won notes in 1972.

Higher-denomination notes of 5,000 and 10,000 won were introduced in 1972 and 1973, respectively. The notes incorporated new security features, including watermark, security thread, and ultraviolet response fibres, and were intaglio printed. The release of 10,000 won notes was planned to be at the same time as the 5,000 won notes, but problems with the main theme delayed it by a year. Newly designed 500 won notes were also released in 1973, and the need for a medium denomination resulted in the introduction of 1,000 won notes in 1975.