1500 Won Emu

North Korea has issued commemorative coinage for foreign hard currency since the 1970s, and by the 2000s the program had expanded to include an eclectic range of wildlife subjects with no domestic circulation intended. These pieces were sold almost exclusively through Chinese and European numismatic dealers, functioning as a foreign exchange mechanism rather than anything resembling a national coinage program.

The emu series falls within a broader run of KM#1100s issues targeting collector markets in Asia and Europe simultaneously. Most examples that surface today pass through Chinese intermediaries, never having touched North Korean soil at all.