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5 Chon Socialist Visitor
| Issuer | Foreign Trade Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea |
|---|---|
| Year | 1988 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 외화와바꾼돈표 조선민주주의인민공화국 무역은행 1988 5 오전 (Translation: Foreign currency exchange certificate, Foreign Trade Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Five Chon) |
| Reverse description | Plain pink underprint with fine wavy-line guilloche across the entire field. A large central guilloche rosette carries the numeral '5' in intaglio, flanked to the right by a smaller rosette enclosing the Korean denomination '오전'. A dark lathe-work band crosses the upper portion, and a matching band runs along the bottom; the numeral '5' appears in the upper right corner and '오전' in a solid dark cartouche at lower left. |
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| Comments |
North Korea maintained a parallel currency system for foreign visitors well into the late twentieth century — separate notes were issued by denomination and color-coded by intended user category. This note belongs to the "socialist visitor" series, meaning it was designated for travelers from allied socialist countries, as distinct from the red-series notes reserved for capitalist-country visitors and the blue series for overseas Koreans. The distinction was functional: each category carried different purchasing access within the state-controlled Foreigners' shops (known as Rakwon stores).
The Foreign Trade Bank, not the Central Bank, administered the system — a detail that reflects how the won券 certificate network was treated as a trade and foreign exchange tool rather than a domestic monetary instrument. The entire visitor certificate system was abolished in 2002 during North Korea's limited economic reforms.