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Standalone Korea Coin Encyclopedia

Japanese Colonial Monetary Disruption in Korea

A Korean-canonical transition page distinguishing Japanese political control, Bank of Chosen notes, Japanese metropolitan coins, and surviving Korean Empire money.

한국 화폐 · 韓國貨幣

Japan 1889 Meiji 22 one-yen silver coin, obverse Japan 1889 Meiji 22 one-yen silver coin, reverse
Japan 1889 Meiji 22 one-yen silver coin. Foreign-circulation context: the pictured coin retains its Japanese identity and is not a Korean issue. Image source: Петров Эдуард · License: CC0 1.0
Historical periods
10
Authorities
9
Monetary systems
9
Publication
Published

Historical architecture

One shared history, two modern state branches

Premodern and Korean Empire objects remain part of shared Korean history. After 1945, Republic of Korea and DPRK authorities, systems, denominations, and issue evidence are never merged.

PeriodKoreanDatesCatalog branch
Ancient and Three Kingdoms contexts고대와 삼국 시대Earlier–935/korea-coins/periods
Goryeo고려918–1392/korea-coins/goryeo
Joseon조선1392–1897/korea-coins/joseon
Korean Empire대한제국1897–1910/korea-coins/korean-empire
Japanese colonial period일제강점기1910–1945/korea-coins/japanese-colonial-period
Liberation and division광복과 분단1945–1948/korea-coins/liberation-and-division
Republic of Korea: first won대한민국 제1차 원1949–1953/korea-coins/south-korea/first-won
Republic of Korea: hwan대한민국 환1953–1962/korea-coins/south-korea/hwan
Republic of Korea: second won대한민국 제2차 원1962–present/korea-coins/south-korea/second-won
Democratic People's Republic of Korea조선민주주의인민공화국1947–present/korea-coins/north-korea

Relationship layer

Foreign coins retain host identity

Circulation, merchant acceptance, testing, countermarking, or colonial use can be documented without duplicating a host coin as a Korean issue.

ContextHost identityEvidenceIdentity rule
Chinese cash coins in Korean marketschinainstitutional-contextChinese host identity is preserved; circulation does not create a Korean issue.
Spanish and Mexican silver in late Joseon trademexico-spainresearch-requiredHost coin and countermark identities remain separate.
Japanese metropolitan coins in colonial KoreajapaninstitutionalJapanese coins retain Japanese issue identity; Korea records the circulation relationship.

Continue browsing

Related Korea encyclopedia routes

All routes retain independent evidence and publication gates.

overview Korea Coin Encyclopedia

A standalone, source-led catalog of Korean coinage from early money and cast cash through empire, colonial disruption, division, and the separate modern currencies of South and North Korea.

periods Korean Coinage by Historical Period

A chronological browser that keeps shared Korean history and post-1945 state branches explicit.

denominations Korean Coin Denominations

Mun, pun, jeon, yang, hwan, and won are tied to their own monetary systems instead of flattened into one value ladder.

coin forms Korean Coin Forms and Manufacture

Cast square-holed cash, formed silver money, foreign hosts, and machine-struck coins require different identification methods.

systems Korean Monetary Systems

A relationship map of units, issuing authorities, reforms, and transitions without treating every object used in Korea as a Korean issue.

foreign coins Foreign Coins Used in Korea

Chinese cash, trade silver, and Japanese metropolitan coins retain their host identities while their Korean circulation is documented as a relationship.

goryeo Goryeo Coinage

A cautious overview of court coin experiments, inscribed cash, silver bottle money, and the continuing role of commodity and foreign money.

joseon Joseon Coinage

Joseon coinage is organized around authority, casting institutions, value classes, and monetary change rather than a flat date list.

liberation Liberation, Currency Transition, and Division

A transition map from the end of colonial rule to separate South and North Korean authorities and currencies.

north korea North Korean Coinage

A conservative DPRK catalog foundation that separates verified state currency from uncertain commercial and collector issues.

date guide Korean Coin Date and Inscription Guide

Read Hangul, Hanja, Gwangmu, Yunghui, Gregorian, and Juche inscriptions without forcing one dating system across every Korean coin.

Sources

Institutional evidence for this page

Source links support the stated scope; they do not license unsourced varieties, market values, or image reuse beyond recorded terms.

World Coin Book

Japan Phase 11 Korea monetary relationship register

internal-compatibility-record · 2026-07-31

Open source
Bank of Korea

History of Korean Currency, 1950–2005

official-currency-timeline · 2026-07-31

Open source
Evidence boundary

Unknown dates, mintages, annual manufacturing, attributions, legal status, and image identity remain unavailable. They never become zero or a confident claim. No market prices are published in this foundation.