20 000 Won Olympics

Issued as part of South Korea's ambitious commemorative program ahead of the 1988 Seoul Olympics, this 1982 silver piece was released a full six years before the games — an unusually long lead time that reflected both the scale of the fundraising effort and the government's determination to use the Olympics as an instrument of international legitimacy. South Korea had been under military rule since Chun Doo-hwan's coup in 1980, and the Olympic bid, won in 1981, was pursued in part to rehabilitate the country's image abroad.

KM#30 is the earliest release in the Seoul Olympic series.