Catalog
1 Won
| Issuer | Bank of Korea |
|---|---|
| Year | 1962-1970 |
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| Printer | Thomas De La Rue & Company, London, United Kingdom |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in purple and ochre tones on a fine guilloche underprint, with two circular medallions at left and right bearing the Hangul denomination characters. A central floral rosette vignette, rendered in intricate lathe-work, is flanked by scrollwork and wave patterns; to the lower right a red circular seal of the Bank of Korea is applied. The Korean title inscription runs horizontally across the upper portion, with the denomination in Hangul printed vertically at left. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in purple and ochre on a dense guilloche ground, with four ornate rosette cornerpieces framing the central design. A large cartouche of interlaced lathe-work encloses the bold numeral '1' above a rectangular panel bearing the word 'WON', set against a symmetrical butterfly guilloche pattern. The issuer's name in Roman capitals occupies a solid purple band across the top of the note. |
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| Comments |
The P#30 1 Won belongs to the first generation of notes issued after South Korea's currency reform of June 1962, which lopped two zeros off the old Hwan and redenominated the entire economy overnight. The reform was largely driven by the military government of Park Chung-hee, who had seized power the previous year and needed a clean monetary break from the preceding civilian administration.
Thomas De La Rue's involvement was typical of the period — South Korea's domestic printing capacity wasn't yet sufficient for secure currency production, so London handled the work throughout most of the 1960s.