Catalog
50 000 Won
| Issuer | Bank of Korea |
|---|---|
| Year | 2009 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Reverse description | The reverse carries two reproductions of classical Korean ink paintings arranged in a structured bilateral layout: at left, Wolmaedo, a study of a blossoming mume (plum) tree attributed to Eo Mongryong, and at right, Poongjukdo, a depiction of wind-swept bamboo in the tradition of Lee Jeong. Fine guilloche underprint patterns fill the background, with denomination numerals and issuing authority text in Hangul and Latin script. |
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| Protection type | Watermark, Security thread, Color-shifting ink |
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| Comments |
South Korea's highest-denomination banknote when introduced in 2009, the 50,000 Won took over fifty years to materialize — the Bank of Korea had resisted issuing a note above 10,000 Won since 1973, citing concerns that large-denomination paper would accelerate inflation and enable untraceable cash transactions. The decision to finally proceed came partly from the practical reality that 10,000 Won notes were being bundled in quantities that made everyday high-value payments cumbersome.
Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation in Daejeon handles the full production run domestically, an arrangement that reflects South Korea's mature intaglio printing infrastructure — the country no longer relies on foreign security printers as it did in earlier decades.