Catalog
1000 Hwan
| Issuer | Bank of Korea |
|---|---|
| Year | 1953 |
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| Printer | Bureau of Engraving and Printing, United States (1862-date) |
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| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in red-brown on a fine guilloche underprint and carries a central sunburst vignette flanked by two ornate oval frames: the left frame encloses the denomination in Chinese characters (千圜) with a red seal below, while the right frame contains a vignette of a turtle ship (거북선). The issuer inscription 韓國銀行 (Bank of Korea) appears in large Chinese characters across the upper centre, with the serial number printed twice in black. Decorative floral corner motifs and a repeating denomination border complete the design. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | The BANK of KOREA 圜千 천 원 ONE THOUSAND WON (Translation: One Thousand Hwan, One Thousand Won) |
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| Comments |
The Hwan was introduced in February 1953 as a redenomination of the wartime Won at a rate of 1 Hwan to 100 Won — an acknowledgment that the Korean War had effectively destroyed the currency's purchasing power. With South Korea's own printing infrastructure wrecked, the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington produced the early Hwan series, including this 1,000-denomination note, one of the highest face values in the initial release.
P#15 is considerably scarcer than the lower denominations in the 1953 series, partly because high-value notes accumulated fewer handling cycles before being deposited or redeemed.