50 Won Red stamp; Convertible (Western) currencies

North Korea operated a parallel currency system for foreign visitors beginning in the early 1980s, issuing convertible won notes denominated to segregate "hard currency" holders — those exchanging Western currencies — from socialist-bloc tourists, who received a separate series with different overprints. This note, distinguished by its red stamp, belongs to the Western convertible category and was never intended for domestic circulation among North Korean citizens, who had no legal access to it.

The segregation was enforced at the point of exchange and monitored through the Changgwang Credit Bank. Leftover notes could not legally be reconverted into foreign currency at departure, a policy designed to extract hard currency from visitors with no recourse.