1000 Hwan

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.