Catalog
100 Hwan
| Issuer | Bank of Korea |
|---|---|
| Year | 1957 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | 156 × 66 mm |
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| Obverse description | Central vignette consists of a portrait of Syngman Rhee (1875–1965), the first President of the Republic of Korea (1948–1960), set against a guilloche underprint. Korean and Chinese script inscriptions appear alongside the denomination and the issuer name, with the date rendered in the Korean calendar year 4290. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in green on a pale guilloche underprint and displays the denomination legend "ONE HUNDRED HWAN" in a central framed cartouche with ornate scrollwork surround. Stylised lotus flower vignettes flank the cartouche on either side, while the issuer name "THE BANK OF KOREA" appears in an arched panel at the top and the numeric denomination "100 HWAN" is inscribed in a scroll at the foot. |
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| Comments |
The 100 Hwan was introduced as South Korea struggled to stabilize an economy shattered by the Korean War. The hwan itself had replaced the won in 1953 at a rate of 100:1 — a blunt acknowledgment of wartime inflation that had rendered the old currency nearly worthless. By 1957 the hwan was already under pressure again, and this denomination was among the higher-value notes in everyday circulation during a period of acute scarcity.
Domestic production by the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation reflected a deliberate push toward self-sufficient note manufacture rather than continued reliance on foreign printers. The hwan series would survive only until 1962, when a military government redenominated back to the won at 10:1.