Catalog
50 Won Capitalist Visitor
| Issuer | Foreign Trade Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea |
|---|---|
| Year | 1988 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The obverse carries a central vignette of the winged equestrian Chŏllima statue set against the Pyongyang skyline, flanked by a stylized atomic symbol at left and the National Coat of Arms at right, all rendered against a fine guilloche underprint. The date 1988 appears in the lower portion of the design. Inscriptions in Hangul script are arranged across the upper and lower registers, identifying the issuing authority and denomination. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | 조선민주주의인민공화국 무역은행 50 오십원 (Translation: Foreign Trade Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Fifty Won) |
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| Comments |
North Korea maintained a dual-currency system for foreigners from the 1970s onward, issuing separate won certificates specifically to prevent hard currency from mixing with the domestic money supply. This note belongs to the "capitalist visitor" series — a designation printed on the notes themselves, distinguishing them from certificates issued to visitors from socialist countries and from those issued to ethnic Korean residents abroad. Each category circulated in different designated shops and facilities.
The Foreign Trade Bank administered the scheme rather than the Central Bank, which reflects how nakedly the system functioned as a hard-currency extraction mechanism rather than a conventional monetary arrangement.