1 Won History of Seafaring

North Korea's commemorative program of the early 2000s was largely engineered for hard currency export rather than domestic circulation — these brass issues were sold through foreign dealers and diplomatic channels, never intended to pass through Korean hands in trade. The Schön 260 reference places this squarely within a prolific series of thematic commemoratives that the DPRK mint produced with near-industrial regularity during this period, targeting collector markets in Europe and East Asia.