1/2 Won Gwang Mu - Russian Occupation

In 1896, following the assassination of Queen Min and fearing Japanese consolidation of power, King Gojong took refuge in the Russian legation in Seoul — an episode known as the Agwan Pacheon. Russian influence over Korean monetary policy intensified in the years that followed, and this issue reflects that intervention directly: the coinage reform that produced it was shaped in part by Russian advisors pushing to standardize Korean silver on terms favorable to Russian commercial interests in the peninsula.

The series was short-lived. Japanese pressure after the Russo-Japanese War dismantled whatever monetary architecture Russia had helped construct.