1 Won Red stamp; Convertible (Western) currencies, 2nd issue

North Korea ran a dual-currency system for foreign visitors from the early 1970s onward, issuing color-coded convertible won certificates that could not be mixed with domestic currency. Red-stamped notes were reserved for visitors from capitalist countries; blue stamps denoted socialist-bloc visitors. The distinction mattered — each color carried different exchange privileges and purchasing access, largely enforced at the Foreigners' Shops (hwagyo sangjeom) that ordinary citizens could not enter.

This second series replaced the first-issue certificates without fanfare. The scheme was quietly wound down in the early 1990s as the foreign exchange system was restructured.