1000 Hwan

The 1000 Hwan was the highest denomination in circulation during the final years of the hwan regime, issued against the backdrop of the April Revolution of 1960 and the subsequent military coup of May 1961 that brought Park Chung-hee to power. That political upheaval directly accelerated monetary reform — the hwan was replaced by the won in June 1962 at a rate of 10:1, effectively wiping out much of the denomination's practical value overnight.

Printed domestically by KOMSCO rather than contracted abroad, as many earlier Korean issues had been. The relatively modest print run of just over twelve million was curtailed by the currency conversion, and notes returned during redemption were destroyed in quantity.