Catalog
500 Hwan
| Issuer | Bank of Korea |
|---|---|
| Year | 1958-1959 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse lettering | 오 백 韓國銀行券 500 五百圜 韓國銀行 4291 (Translation: Five Hundred, Korean banknote, Five Hundred Hwan, The Bank of Korea) |
| Reverse description | The reverse centres on a large guilloché medallion in brown tones, within which the Hangul characters 오백 (five hundred) are inscribed. The English legend THE BANK OF KOREA runs across the upper portion, with FIVE HUNDRED HWAN in bold serif lettering across the centre and the numeral 500 repeated at each corner. An ornate guilloché border frame encloses the entire composition. |
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| Comments |
The 500 Hwan was a short-lived denomination in every sense. The Hwan itself replaced the Won in 1953 at a rate of 100 to 1, a direct consequence of postwar inflation that had rendered the original currency functionally worthless. By 1962, the Won was reintroduced — again at 10 Hwan to 1 Won — making the entire Hwan series a brief interlude defined by monetary instability on both ends.
Printing domestically at the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation rather than contracting foreign security printers, as Korea had done earlier in the series, reflected a deliberate push toward self-sufficient currency production in the late 1950s. Pick 24 sits near the end of Hwan-era issues.