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

North Korea maintained a dual-currency system for foreign visitors from the late 1970s onward, issuing separate notes restricted to specific currency blocs. This series, the second issue, distinguished "convertible" Western currency holders from socialist-bloc visitors — the latter received notes with a different color overprint. The red stamp here signals Western hard currency origin, which carried significantly more purchasing power within the designated Chongsong stores.

The underlying 10 Won note predates the overprint; the stamp was applied administratively rather than at the point of original printing. These circulated exclusively within a closed system — they could not legally leave the country, and their redemption on departure was theoretically mandatory.