Korean money name | Banknote & Coin Story

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KOREAN MONEY BASIC INFO

South Korean currency is called "won" generally. The ISO 4217 international standardized currency code is KRW, and the abbreviation symbol is ₩.

Korean Currency Symbol

₩

ex) ₩10,000

Korean Currency Code

KRW

ex) 10,000KRW

Practical Use in Korean

원

ex) 10,000원

Practical Use in English

won

ex) 10,000won

 

Daily currency exchange rate would be shown by googling with "KRW to YOUR CURRENCY", for example, "KRW to USD". If you briefly look price of Starbucks menu in South Korea, or average currency exchange rate, check out this article.

 

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BRIEF HISTORY OF KOREAN WON

The first official Korean "won" was used since Korea got independence back from Japan in 1945. According to Korean money history written in "나무위키"(Namu Wiki), during the civil war which ended up with division in North and South Korea, the money printer as well as the remained money in central bank have been taken by North Korea. Because this created vital problems economically, South Korea issued newly designed money by itself.

After few times of currency reformation in the time of post-war transition, the modern "won" system was established in year 1962. Since the first version was issued, there were several more design / unit changes. The last version, which is used as of now, is 5th revision issued in 2006. As the lastest banknote, 50,000won bill was introduced for the first time in 2009.

 

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KOREAN MONEY NAME

 

ⓒ Bank of Korea

 

BANKNOTES

Four sorts of banknote are in use at the moment, from 1,000won to 50,000won. Each side of the bills is designed with historically important celebrities and cultural heritages.

 

₩ 1,000 Cheon won 천 원
₩ 5,000 Oh-cheon won 오천 원
₩ 10,000 Mahn won 만 원
₩ 50,000 Oh-mahn won 오만 원

COINS

In addition, four types of coins are commonly used at the moment. Under 10won unit does exist, but almost none of them might be in real market. (I saw 1won coin and 5won coin when I was young)

₩ 10 Sib won 십 원
₩ 50 Oh-sib won 십 원
₩ 100 Baeg won 백 원
₩ 500 Oh-baeg won 오백 원

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NAME OF PEOPLE ON KOREAN MONEY

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ⓒ Bank of Korea

₩ 1,000 Cheon won 천 원

FRONT SIDE

Yi Hwang (Pen name: Toegye, 1501~1570), whose portrait is used for 1000won Korean banknote, was a Korean philosopher, writer, and Confucian scholar of the Choseon Dynasty. He was a figure of the Neo-Confucian literati, established the Yeongnam School and set up the Dosan Seowon, a private Confucian academy.[wiki]. The building at the back of him is Myungryundang where he studied. The building is currently located in Jongro, Seoul.

BACK SIDE

Gaesang junggeodo(계상정거도, 溪上靜居圖) at the back of bill is a drawing made by Jeong Seon(1676–1759). The building at the bottom center of mountain landscape is told where Yi Hwang stayed for his scholartic work.

 

ⓒ Bank of Korea

₩ 5,000 Oh-cheon won 오천 원

FRONT SIDE

Portrait of Yi Yi (Pen name : Yulgok, 1536~1584) is on the 5,000won Korean banknote. He was a Korean philosopher, writer, and Confucian scholar of the Choseon Dynasty in 16th century. The building at the background is Ojukheon, where Yi Yi was born : Ohjuk basically mean black bamboo tree.

BACK SIDE

The backside painting is one of Chochungdo(초충도) series drawn by Yi Yi's mother Shin saimdang. The contents of this drawing are insect(butterfly and so on) and grass(watermelon) which were uncommon in the time.

 

ⓒ Bank of Korea

₩ 10,000 Mahn won 만 원

FRONT SIDE

The Great King Sejong(1397~1450)'s portrait is designed together with Ilwolohbongdo (일월오봉도, A folding screen depicting the sun, moon, and pine trees as well as the five mountain peaks placed behind the throne of the royal palace during the Choseon Dynasty) for the front side of 10,000 won note. By looking closely, you could also see Korean letters are written vertically. This is a fraction of book "Yongbiacheonga(용비어천가)" written in "Hun-min-jeong-eum(훈민정음)" for the first time. "Hun-min-jeong-eum(훈민정음)" is the original form of unique & modern Korean language "Hangul(한글)", created by King Sejong and his language lab.

BACK SIDE

Hon-cheon-ui (혼천의, A Celestial Globe - part of an Armillary Sphere), invented by Jang-yeongsil under the supervising of King Sejong, is illustrated on the back side. Behind that, a Korean national treasure No. 228 Cheon-sang-yeol-cha-bun-ya-ji-do (천상열차분야지도, 天象列次分野之圖) is painted. "Cheon-sang-yeol-cha-bun-ya-ji-do (천상열차분야지도, 天象列次分野之圖)" is an astronomical map carved in stone in the 4th year of King Taejo(1395), Choseon dynasty. This astronomical monument is known for having been made based on “Pyongyang Seongdo(평양 성도, 星圖)”, previous astronomical monument made in Goguryeo kingdom(BC27~AD668).

 

ⓒ Bank of Korea

₩ 50,000 Oh-mahn won 오만 원

FRONT SIDE

On the front, a portrait of Shin Saimdang(신사임당, 1504~1551) is printed with partial paintings of her - Mukpododo(묵포도도) and Egg plants of Chochungdo-subyeong(초충도수병의 가지그림) on the background. She is not only known for the best mother in confucious Choseon society, also one of the most famous painters of the time. FYI, a drawing of her is occupying one side of 1,000 won banknote already. Because of this, the back side of bill is filled with another Choseon painter's artwork.

BACK SIDE

The figure on the back side is Wolmaedo(월매도) painted by Eo Mongryong(어몽룡), a painters of Choseon Dynasty. Letter "Wol(월)" indicatde the moon, while "mae(매)" signify asian plum tree as one of 4 noble plants. (Since ancient times, Asian people have considered bamboo one of four noble plants, along with the plum tree, orchid, and chrysanthemum. These 4 noble plants are called Sagunja-사군자). "do(도)" just mean painting.

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Korean coins got symbolic objects/creatures for front side with only numbers backside. Meanwhile, 1 won and 5 won coin are rarely used in the real life. Hence, I'm going to mention only front side designs over 10 won coin to 500 won coin in this article.

 

ⓒ Bank of Korea

₩ 10 Sib won 십 원

 

Dabotap is one of famous pagodas, located in the buddhist temple of Bulguksa in Gyeongju city, South Korea. The pagoda is supposed to have been built in 751, the 10th year of the Shilla king Gyeongdeok. It is currently designated as National Treasure no. 20. Not only Dabotap is sitting in the yard of Bulguksa temple. In front of this glamorous pagoda, Seokgatap, another buddhist pagoda, is showing off its esthetics of simplism over 10 centries of period. You could figure out which one is more of your preferences if you visit Bulguksa.

 

ⓒ Bank of Korea

₩ 50 Oh-sib won 십 원

 

Rice plant occupies design for 50 won coins. Rice is main meal for Koreans. The use of "rice plant" on currency design appears to be a trial considering variety of Korean culture.

 

₩ 100 Baeg won 백 원

 

If you want to become a spy in South Korea, there are two historical people you must know of. One is King Sejong, and the other is Admiral Yi Sun-Sin(1545-1598). Yi was a military general famed for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin war in the Joseon Dynasty. Yi has since been celebrated as a national hero in Korea. One of his famous battle stories, Battle of Myeongnyang, were filmed in 2014, with the title of "명량". A turttle shape battle ship Geobukseon (거북선) was designed by him too.

 

₩ 500 Oh-baeg won 오백 원

 

Why is crane(bird) picture on 500 won coin? Crane is called "Durumi(두루미)", or "Hak(학)" in Korean language. It is said that the crane is one of the ten long-lived animals and has been regarded as a sacred bird since ancient times. In addition, crane symbolizes peace and longevity, and as an auspicious symbol of infinite development. So to say, 500 won Korean coins might be "wish you all the best" coin.

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EPILOGUE

We have seen Korean banknote and coin so far. While researching Korean currency designs, I encountered a interesting super inflation story in Korean monetary history finished up by publishing 1 won after civil war.

In the meantime, small currency units which are "coin" type now, once published as "paper bill" and treated as the biggest in the time. Beside of many historical celebrities and symbols once used and vanished for old money designs, the changing currency unit brought me the theme of "inflation" to think about. This has been a constructive article even for me, as a writer.

If you visit this article to learn about counting Korean money in Korean language, check this article.

 

 

Hope you enjou financially happy life!

Thank you!

 

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REFERENCES
[1] https://www.bok.or.kr/portal/main/contents.do?menuNo=200367

[2] WIKIPEDIA

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