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400 Won Ssirum
| Issuer | Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea |
|---|---|
| Year | 2002 |
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| Composition | Gold (.999) |
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| Reverse description | Dynamic central design depicts two wrestlers engaged in Ssirum, the traditional Korean folk wrestling discipline, rendered in high relief with one competitor executing a throwing technique, lifting his opponent off the ground. A decorative branch motif appears above the figures in the upper field. To the left, a banner cartouche bears the numeral '90' with Hangul inscriptions below. The legend 'KOREAN FOLK GAMES SSIRUM' arcs around the upper periphery in Latin letters, with the Juche calendar date 'Juche 91 (2002)' inscribed along the lower border. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Issued in 2002, this piece belongs to a series of North Korean collector coins produced almost entirely for foreign exchange — not domestic circulation. The DPRK has used gold and silver numismatic issues since the 1980s as a hard currency earner, selling through intermediaries in Austria and China to collectors who could never legally visit the issuing country. Ssirum, the traditional Korean wrestling form depicted on this coin, was actively promoted by Pyongyang as a distinctly Korean cultural identity distinct from Japanese or Chinese influence — a political framing with roots in the post-liberation period after 1945.