Korean won. History and basic information about the South Korean currency

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The Won is the official currency of the Republic of Korea. This currency has a designation in the international financial system KRW and code 410. The name of the South Korean won comes from the union of hieroglyphs, which is pronounced as won (hu) and and in translation means the Won currency.

History of the South Korean currency

The history of the won dates back to 1950 after Korea's secession from Japan and the creation of two new states on this territory: the Republic of Korea in the south and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in the north. On the first banknotes of the won, a portrait image of the first president of the Republic of Korea, Lee Seung-man, who at that time was the current head of state, was applied. His image remained on won notes until April 1960. That is, until the very moment when he was overthrown during the "student revolution".

The Korean won of the period of the First Republic is distinguished by the presence of a significant amount of hieroglyphs on banknotes. To write words on banknotes of that time, mainly Chinese characters were used. Over time, banknotes began to appear inscriptions onKorean. At the same time, from time to time, texts in English could also be found on South Korean money.

South Korean coins

Coins are in circulation in denominations of one, five, ten, fifty and one hundred won. The first two are quite rare, so when making transactions, rounding the calculation to ten won is allowed.

On June 12, 1982, 500 won coins were put into circulation. There were two reasons for this decision. Firstly, the high level of inflation, and secondly, the rapid spread and growing popularity of vending machines. Six months later, in January 1983, a new series of coins saw the light: one, five, ten, fifty and one hundred won. These coins were made in the same style as the five hundred won coin, but retained the theme of the obverse and reverse of older copies. This move allowed for the standardization of the South Korean monetary system.

South Korean banknotes

The Korean won is in circulation in denominations of one thousand, five thousand, ten thousand and fifty thousand. In addition to banknotes, bank checks in denominations of one hundred thousand won or more are used for transactions. It should be emphasized that when using such a check, it is required to indicate the holder's passport number, as well as the address and telephone number in the Republic of Korea on its reverse side.

Won exchange rate and exchange rate

The monetary policy of the leadership of South Korea led to the needto float the Korean won. The start of these aspirations was given on February 27, 1980, and the final transition to the free value of the South Korean currency took place on December 24, 1997. On that day, an agreement was reached between the leadership of the Republic of Korea and the International Monetary Fund. However, some time later, a major financial crisis hit Asia, causing the Korean Won to almost halve in value.

The Bank of Korea is in charge of issuing currency in the republic. It is curious that one of the main problems of this main financial regulator of the country is the high level of counterfeiting. So, in 2006, this misfortune at all acquired alarming proportions. For example, 50% of the number of banknotes in denominations of five thousand won (the exchange rate of the Korean won to the dollar was then about 1000 to 1) were counterfeit.

This state of affairs forced the state government to put into circulation a new series of paper money. First of all, it was the most “popular” banknote of five thousand won that was changed. In 2007, additional 1,000 won and 10,000 won banknotes were introduced into circulation. These new banknotes have ten protective mechanisms. The updated Korean Won contains the same anti-counterfeiting features as several other currencies: the Euro, British Pound Sterling, Canadian Dollar and Japanese Yen.

On June 23, 2009, the Bank of Korea introduced a fifty thousand won note into circulation. On the obverse of the banknote you can see the image of the famous16th-century Korean artist Sin Saimdang, who was also the mother of the Confucian scholar Yi Yi, who became known under the assumed name of Yulgok. The fifty thousand won banknote is the first South Korean banknote to feature the image of a woman. In addition, a sociological survey was conducted among the population of the country to select the person who will be awarded such an honor.

At the moment, the Republic of Korea has the 11th GDP in the world in nominal terms. In recent years, the national currency of this country is quite stable. The exchange rate of the Korean won against the ruble is 19.46 to 1.