20 Won Turtle Boat

North Korea's turtle ship coinage occupies an odd corner of numismatics — these pieces were struck almost exclusively for the international collector market rather than domestic circulation, as hard currency was effectively inaccessible to ordinary North Korean citizens. The Chosŏn'gung mint produced collector issues through the 1990s and 2000s under foreign distribution arrangements, which is why KM#916 and similar pieces turn up through European and Chinese dealers rather than through any domestic channel.

The turtle ship itself — the geobukseon — was deployed by Admiral Yi Sun-sin against Japanese naval forces during the Imjin War of 1592–98, and its use as a motif on DPRK coinage reflects a consistent state interest in pre-partition Korean military heritage as a source of national identity.