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North Korea Philately



 
 
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Old August 17th 04, 04:19 PM
Blair (TC)
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Default North Korea Philately

I found the following most enlightening about a little known area .

Blair (TC)


A Report on (N.) Korean Philately by: Shih Wai Zhong

A rough translation by Prof. P. Kevin MacKeown of an article
originally published in Jiyou, No. 1, 1996.
(Originally published in Chinese, in the People’s Republic of China)
Extracted from Korean Philately, February, 2001 -vol. 47, No, 1
EDITOR: Dr. Gary N. McLean.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The author, Shih Wai Zhong, was born in Shanghai in January, 1944, and
is currently an associate researcher in the Academica Sinica’s Natural
Resources Research Council.

From 1993 to 1995 he served as a Secretary in the Chinese Embassy in
(N.)Korea. A collector from childhood, in collecting he has emphasized
research on the technology of postage stamps and has written over 100
articles on stamp collecting and published several books on the
subject of stamp collecting. He is a member of the National Philatelic
Association’s Committee on Stamp Terminology and vice-chairman of the
Peking Stamp Study Association Committee.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Preface:
(N.) Korea and our country are neighboring brotherly allies. In the
cause of strengthening and developing Sino-Korean friendship, the
Korean government, in recent years, has issued a series of 7 issues,
6 sets of Sino-Korean friendship stamps; they a

1990, October 23: 40th anniversary of entry of Chinese volunteer
forces into Korea, a set of 4 stamps, I miniature sheet, a
commemorative postal envelope and a postal card.

1993, November 16: 100th anniversary of the birth of Mao Tse Tung
(1st series), an overprinted miniature sheet and 6 three-dimensional
commemorative postal cards.

1993, December 26: (2nd series), 4 stamps, a miniature sheet, a
sheetlet and a commemorative envelope.

1994, October 1: 45th anniversary of the founding of the PRC
(showing historical scenes featuring Chou En Lai), 4 stamps, a
miniature sheet, 2 sheetlets and 2 three-dimensional commemorative
cards.

1994, October 25: 45th anniversary of the establishment of
Sino-Korean diplomatic ties, 1 stamp and 1 miniature sheet.

1995, April 17: 2nd anniversary of Kim Ii Sung’s meeting with Deng
Xiao Ping, 2 stamps and I miniature sheet.

1995, October 1: 46th anniversary of the founding of the PRC, 3
miniature sheets.

Such rich philatelic items receive a warm welcome from philatelists in
our country. Accordingly, Chinese stamp collectors will appreciate an
understanding of Korean stamps and the philatelic situation there.

Already ten years ago, the writer produced an essay, “A Simple History
of Korean Postal Issues,” but that was written based simply on my own
collecting, without any direct contact with the Korean philatelic
sources. Since then I have had the opportunity to live in Korea for an
extended period, where, work apart, I could come to understand the
policy on stamp issuing, distribution, and the philatelic situation
generally, which I would like to introduce here to interested readers.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. (North) Korean Stamp Issues.
Korea issued its first set of stamps on November 18, 1884, and up
until 1903, including overprinted stamps, issued a total of 44 stamps.
In April, 1905, Japan forced Korea to sign a treaty surrendering its
postal administration, and in August, 1910, Korea was swallowed up by
Japan as a colony and forced to use only Japanese stamps. On the 15th
of August, 1945, Korea was liberated, and on the 8th of February,
1946, a North Korean Provisional People’s Assembly was set up. In the
same year, on March 12th, the first set of post-liberation Korean
stamps was issued. Since that time the style of Korean stamps has
drawn attention.

Subsequent (N.) Korean stamp issues can be divided into three periods:

1. 1946 to 1953, the early post-liberation and Korean War period.
Stamps of this period primarily feature political themes, with design
and printing of a simple nature; reprints of the majority of these
were issued in 1957.

2. 1954 to 1975, the scope of the issues became larger—scenery, flora
and fauna, sports, folk customs, etc., still with strong political
overtones.

3. 1976 to date, the scope of the topical material is much broader,
and international themes play a relatively important role, printing is
finer, and colors more beautiful. A particular feature of the stamps
of this period is the occurrence, in addition to Korean text, of the
English designation, “DPR KOREA.”

The Korean stamp issuing policy has two goals:
(1) Issues specifically for stamp collectors. For the most part the
themes of these issues are topical, printing is of a high quality, and
are almost always issued in conjunction with miniature sheets,
sheetlets or small sheets, in some instances imperforate stamps,
imperforate miniature sheets, etc. In the recent two years sets of
miniature sheets alone have been issued (featuring one or several
pieces), without the issue of accompanying individual stamps. Because
of this the number of miniature sheets issued annually has soared. In
1992 a total of 32 pieces were issued (inclusive of sheetlets and
small sheets); in 1993 the number was 45, and in 1994 the total
exceeded 70.
(2) Issues for regular postal needs. The themes of these stamps are
predominantly political. In 1994 the DPRK’s great leader, chairman Kim
Il Sung, died, an event of great import in Korean political life. In
the same year, the event was commemorated by the issue of 6 miniature
sheets and a sheetlet, while in 1995 the first anniversary of his
death was marked by the issue of 5 miniature sheets and a sheetlet.
What the author is at a loss to understand is why all these stamps
were issued solely for collectors, they did not circulate in the
country, and the great bulk of the population will never have seen
them.

Stamps issued by Korea for general postal use are not very numerous,
constituting only a small portion ofthe annual total issues. For
example, of the 22 sets issued in 1992, only 3 sets were for general
postal use; 9 of 28 sets issued in 1993, and only 9 of the 34 sets
issued in 1994, fell into this category. Reckoned on the actual number
of stamps, the proportion is even less because issues for general
postal use are often single stamps, or two stamp sets.

The distinct difference in emphasis in the issue of Korean stamps
means that there is a clear distinction in their printing. Philatelic
issues do not enter into the internal postal system (apart from their
use by foreigners). Moreover, of those stamps issued for regular
internal postal use, some also have special prints to supply to
collectors. The basic difference between the two a those for
collectors are on better quality paper, of white color and stiff
texture; stamps for regular postal use are on relatively poor quality
paper, thin and soft and yellowish.

In the recent two years there has been an improvement in the quality
of paper in the internal issues, using the same paper as the
philatelic issues so that it is not possible to tell from an
individual stamp which category the issue falls into. However, full
sheets of stamps do have differences, there being larger (7 x
7)(Figure 1), and smaller sheets (7 x 3)(Figure 2). Even where the
sheet sizes are the same, issues for collectors may still have some
differences. For example, in the case of the 1994 Sino-Korean
Friendship issue, sheets of stamps for general use are in a 6x13
format(Figure 3) , while those specially for collectors, though in the
same sheet size, have the central, 7th, column blank, forming a gutter
between two 7x6 panes (Figure 4).

Korean stamps are designed, printed and issued by the Korean Stamp
Company of the Korean Post and Telegraphs branch. The Korean Stamp
Company operates in a manner similar to our former stamp issuing
bureau (the China Stamp Company); the stamp occasion, the design
(stamps featuring top leaders excepted) are all decided by the Korean
Stamp Company. This explains how in the 80’s Korea became the only
country in the world outside the British Commonwealth to issue stamps
commemorating the wedding of Prince Charles.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

2. The Sale and Distribution of Korean Stamps
Korean stamps have two completely different issuing purposes, and for
this reason there are two distinct methods of marketing. Before
talking of marketing, however, we must first introduce the internal
currency situation in the country. At the present time, three distinct
types of currency circulate: the ordinary people use ordinary
Won(Figure 5) Then there is a currency exchangeable for US$, Japanese
yen, etc., printed in blue which we will call the blue won(Figure 6).
One US$ buys 1.98 blue won. In addition, there is a currency, not
freely exchangeable against U S dollars, etc., which is limited in use
to the purchase of foreign goods. The bills are red so we’ll call them
red won (Figure 7). [Translator: It’s not clear how one acquires such
currency.]

The distribution of those stamps issued specially for collectors is
the responsibility of the Korean Stamp Company, internally and abroad.
The Korean Stamp Company headquarters arc located near Pyongyang’s
best hotel, the Korean. It holds a comprehensive supply of philatelic
goods, and its principal clientele appears to be foreign collectors
and tourists; blue won are used for all purchases, at a price of twice
the stamps’ face value [Translator: I presume he is referring to mint
stamps.] At the same time some hotels have bookshops which sell
stamps; they also require blue won. Also, in these shops, incomplete
sets are sold at face value; the writer managed to put together some
complete sets from such purchases.

In March, 1995, Korea carried out a major revision of the prices of
stamps; the selling prices of stamps from before 1990 underwent a
rather large adjustment. The item most affected was the 1985 Kim IL
Sung Visits China miniature sheet(Figure 8). Its original price was 10
Us cents. For a long time there was no supply; now it is reckoned at
US$140, a 1400 fold rise.

Stamps for postal use are distributed throughout the country by the
Post Office’s stamps division for all the post offices to sell. One
can use ordinary money, or red won, for purchases at face value. Not
many ordinary (regular) stamps are issued in Korea; one usually
encounters commemorative stamps at the post office. The postal rates
are simple; an internal letter costs 10 chon, with no distinction
between local or otherwise, while a registered letter costs 40 chon.
In a post office one can occasionally come across 10 chon stamps from
commemorative sets originally issued for collectors. The selling price
of the same stamp is either 10 chon or 20 blue chon, reflecting a
potential 100% difference in price. For this reason the Korean
government stipulates that foreigners in the country may not use
ordinary currency, but must use red won or blue won.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

3. The Philatelic Situation in (North) Korea
Korea has many philatelists. At times of new issues, one can see many
citizens and students at the Pyongyang stamp shop buying stamps.
Several years ago Pyongyang stamp shop had a clearance sale, the 1957
reprints of the early liberation period were sold at the low price of
50 chon (ordinary money) each, and were very quickly bought up by
Korean collectors. Some collectors are very diligent; in the Korea
stamp main shop, I have seen a middle-aged mid-manager in a skilled
technology department who would spend many days copying the thick
catalog during his breaks and enjoying it very much.

However, in Korea collectors can only buy that small category of
commemorative stamps issued for ordinary use every year. The much
larger category available for purchase only with foreign currency is
totally inaccessible to the ordinary collector. Because the price of
Korean stamps issued for collectors is very high—a typical new set,
including a miniature sheet and sheetlet, will cost several US dollars
or more. One can’t easily compare the value of the Korean currency
with the US dollar, but by a reasonable reckoning such a set of stamps
would cost the equivalent of several months’ to half a year’s salary.
Accordingly, with some exceptions, no Korean collector can acquire the
large quantity of beautiful stamps issued every year especially for
collectors. In addition, stamp exchange activity in Korea is quite
rare; it is also not very practical for the ordinary collector to
exchange with foreign collectors. The writer brought a quantity of
Chinese stamps when he went to Korea in the hope of exchanging with
some like minded collectors, hoping to buy some covers from the
Liberation War period. This, however, was all in vain.

There is a national philatelic society in Korea, closely associated
with the Korean Stamp Company. It doesn’t have any headquarters of its
own. They used to publish Korean Stamps in English mainly devoted to
introducing Korean stamps. It published over 100 issues but has ceased
publication. At present no stamp collectors’ magazine or newspaper is
published.

Three editions of a Korean stamp catalogue have been published. The
latest, in 1993, featured all the stamps from 1946 in color, was
produced on high quality paper, and sold for 16 blue won. Apart from
this catalogue, Korean philatelic publications are limited to the
Stamp Company’s advanced notices of new issues, and irregularly
published booklets introducing Korean stamps.

Authentic Korean philatelic items are commemorative prestamped postal
envelopes and postcards. Every year, to celebrate national political
events, as well as certain international meetings and activities,
Korea issues, in not very great numbers, several such envelopes and
cards. The franked values are of three types; --10 chon (internal
ordinary), --40 chon (internal registered) and --120 chon
(international letter). The cost of the item is an extra 10 chon. From
my observation the quantity of each item issued does not exceed
several tens of thousands. These items, apart from a small number
which feature foreign topics and are philatellically distributed, are
all sold at post offices over the counter, and are very rapidly sold
out. After being sold out they cannot be obtained anywhere. The Korea
Stamp Company is the controlling department for issuing Korean stamps,
but the writer could not find any records of the issue of this postal
stationary; these cards and envelopes cannot be obtained from the
company. In (Figure 9)we show two commemorative covers and in Figure
10a and (Figure 10b) two postcards.

There are two places in Pyongyang where you can buy foreign stamps.
One is the Korea stamp shop headquarters. Here there are several large
collections of stamps of the former Soviet Union and all the East
European countries, obtained in exchange with members of the
Association [Translator. National Philatelic Association?]. The
writer, apart from a few topics, did not collect foreign stamps, but
in the face of all these attractive stamps and sheets could not resist
and finally bought around a thousand miniature sheets, etc., from over
100 countries and territories. This can be reckoned my greatest
philatelic success in Korea!

Finally let me record that, while working in Korea, I received many
letters from collectors [Translator: from China] seeking introductions
and exchange with Korean collectors. The above report may serve as an
answer to these inquiries and serve as my excuse [Translator: for not
responding].

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