Standalone Korea Coin Encyclopedia
Second South Korean Won
The post-1962 won system, separating legal tender, denomination status, design generation, manufacture, issue, proof, and set distribution.
대한민국 주화 · 大韓民國鑄貨
- Modern systems
- 3
- Current denominations
- 6
- Official status check
- 2026-07-31
- Publication
- Published
Authority model
Bank of Korea issues; KOMSCO manufactures
The Bank of Korea controls official specifications, issue history, and legal status. KOMSCO is the production authority; manufacture, delivery, issue, and circulation remain distinct.
Currency sequence
First won, hwan, and second won are separate systems
Political transition, central-bank establishment, currency conversion, first coin issue, temporary use, and withdrawal are dated separately.
liberation Colonial rule ended, but currency succession was not instantaneous; political liberation and monetary replacement are separate events.
central bank establishment The Bank of Korea was established and inherited the issue responsibilities described in its official timeline.
currency reform The hwan replaced the first won at 100 to 1.
first bank of korea coins The first Bank of Korea coins were the 10 and 50 hwan on October 20 and the 100 hwan on October 30; all were manufactured at the Philadelphia Mint.
currency reform The second won replaced hwan at 10 to 1. New won notes appeared before new won coins; selected hwan coins temporarily circulated at one-tenth face value.
first second won coins The Bank of Korea introduced 1, 5, and 10 won coins, ending the coinless opening years of the second-won issue layer.
| System | Korean | Dates | Base | Coin issue status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| First South Korean won | 제1차 원 | 1950-06-12–1953-02-16 | won | Bank of Korea issued no new first-won coins |
| South Korean hwan | 환 | 1953-02-17–1962-06-09 | hwan | 10, 50, and 100 hwan coins issued in 1959 |
| Second South Korean won | 제2차 원 | 1962-06-10–present | won | Six current coin denominations were introduced between 1966 and 1982; later design generations remain legal tender where the Bank of Korea lists them. |
Official current specifications
Six Bank of Korea denominations
Current official denomination and legal tender do not mean every denomination is manufactured every year. Missing annual production is not zero.
| Denomination | Korean | Design | Composition | Weight | Diameter | Edge | First issue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 won | 일원 | Rose of Sharon (Mugunghwa) | aluminum 100% | 0.729 g | 17.2 mm | plain | 1966-08-16 |
| 5 won | 오원 | Turtle ship | copper 65%, zinc 35% | 2.95 g | 20.4 mm | plain | 1966-08-16 |
| 10 won | 십원 | Dabotap Pagoda | copper-clad aluminum; copper 48%, aluminum 52% | 1.22 g | 18 mm | plain | 1966-08-16 |
| 50 won | 오십원 | Rice stalk | copper 70%, zinc 18%, nickel 12% | 4.16 g | 21.6 mm | milled | 1972-12-01 |
| 100 won | 백원 | Admiral Yi Sun-Shin | copper 75%, nickel 25% | 5.42 g | 24 mm | milled | 1970-11-30 |
| 500 won | 오백원 | Red-crowned crane | copper 75%, nickel 25% | 7.7 g | 26.5 mm | milled | 1982-06-12 |
Design generations
Valid-old and current generation are different statuses
The Bank of Korea legal-tender list preserves multiple generations. A generation can remain legal tender after issue ceases.
| Generation | Denomination | Label | First issue | Last issue | Status | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| kr-sk-gen-1-ga | 1 won | Ga | 1966-08-16 | 1980-12-01 | legal-tender generation; issue ceased | — |
| kr-sk-gen-1-na | 1 won | Na | 1968-08-26 | — | legal-tender older generation | — |
| kr-sk-gen-1-da | 1 won | Da | 1983-01-15 | — | current design generation | — |
| kr-sk-gen-5-ga | 5 won | Ga | 1969-04-17 | — | legal-tender older generation | — |
| kr-sk-gen-5-na | 5 won | Na | 1970-07-16 | — | legal-tender older generation | — |
| kr-sk-gen-5-da | 5 won | Da | 1983-01-15 | — | current design generation | — |
| kr-sk-gen-10-ga | 10 won | Ga | 1966-08-16 | — | legal-tender older generation | early brass composition |
| kr-sk-gen-10-na | 10 won | Na | 1970-07-16 | — | legal-tender older generation | reduced size/weight brass generation |
| kr-sk-gen-10-da | 10 won | Da | 1983-01-15 | — | legal-tender older generation | design revision |
| kr-sk-gen-10-ra | 10 won | Ra | 2006-12-18 | — | current design generation | copper-clad aluminum, smaller and lighter |
| kr-sk-gen-50-ga | 50 won | Ga | 1972-12-01 | — | legal-tender older generation | — |
| kr-sk-gen-50-na | 50 won | Na | 1983-01-15 | — | current design generation | design revision |
| kr-sk-gen-100-ga | 100 won | Ga | 1970-11-30 | — | legal-tender older generation | — |
| kr-sk-gen-100-na | 100 won | Na | 1983-01-15 | — | current design generation | smaller, lighter revised generation |
| kr-sk-gen-500-ga | 500 won | Ga | 1982-06-12 | — | current design generation | — |
Legal and manufacturing status
Legal tender, manufacture, issue, and circulation are not synonyms
The Bank of Korea sets annual manufacturing scale and orders KOMSCO. This phase found no complete official denomination-by-year table, so annual quantities remain unavailable instead of being copied from secondary catalogs.
| Legal record | Scope | Legal tender | Effective | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| kr-sk-legal-pre-1962 | Bank of Korea currencies issued before 1962 reform | No | 1962-06-10 with the separately documented temporary hwan-coin exception | Pre-reform currencies are withdrawn; 10 and 50 hwan continued temporarily and were finally withdrawn in 1975. |
| kr-sk-legal-post-1962 | Bank of Korea coins issued after the 1962 reform | Yes | 1962-06-10 onward | The Bank of Korea lists post-reform issues as legal tender even where a generation is no longer issued. |
No complete official denomination-by-year manufacturing table was retrieved during this phase; no annual quantities are published from secondary catalogs.
A zero is allowed only when an official denomination-year record explicitly states no production; missing annual figures remain null.
Continue browsing
Related Korea encyclopedia routes
All routes retain independent evidence and publication gates.
A Bank of Korea–controlled encyclopedia from the coinless first-won issue layer through hwan and all six second-won coin denominations.
south current South Korean Current Circulation CoinsOfficial specifications and legal status for 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, and 500 won, with valid-old designs and annual manufacturing kept distinct.
south denomination South Korea 500 WonThe red-crowned crane 500 won coin introduced in 1982, with official dimensions, alloy, edge, and legal status.
south transition South Korea's Liberation and Currency TransitionFrom liberation and inherited money to the Bank of Korea, first won, hwan, and second won, with each legal transition dated separately.
south first won First South Korean WonA Bank of Korea monetary system whose new issue layer was banknote-based; it does not gain a fabricated coin series merely because older coins circulated in the transition.
south hwan South Korean HwanThe 1953–1962 hwan system, its 100-to-1 reform from the first won, and its three 1959 coin denominations.
south hwan coins Bank of Korea Hwan CoinsThe 10, 50, and 100 hwan coins introduced in 1959 and manufactured in Philadelphia, with issue and withdrawal status recorded independently.
south denomination South Korea 1 WonThe aluminum Mugunghwa denomination, current official specification, legal generations, and documented issue cessation for the earliest generation.
south denomination South Korea 5 WonThe brass turtle-ship denomination across its Bank of Korea design generations.
south denomination South Korea 10 WonDabotap from the larger brass generations to the current copper-clad aluminum coin introduced in 2006.
south denomination South Korea 50 WonThe rice-stalk denomination introduced in 1972 and revised in 1983.
south denomination South Korea 100 WonThe Admiral Yi Sun-Shin denomination from the 1970 introduction to the smaller 1983 generation.
south date guide South Korean Coin Date and Inscription GuideRead Hangul country names, won denominations, Arabic numerals, Gregorian years, and generation context on Republic of Korea coins.
south commemoratives South Korean Commemorative Coinage FoundationIssuer, producer, approval, par-versus-premium issue, legal tender, and collector distribution are separated before Phase 5 issue research.
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.
History of Korean Currency, 1962–1970
official-timeline · 2026-07-31
Open sourceCurrency in Circulation
official-legal-status · 2026-07-31
Open sourceUnknown 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.