Postage stamps and postal history of North Korea

Postage stamps are issued by the Korea Stamp Corporation.[1] North Korea issues copious amounts of stamps.[2] Since the 1970s, the country has outproduced South Korea in terms of issuance.[3] The stamps tend to portray patriotic and nationalist themes and are used as a form of propaganda,[4] but some of them have little connection with the country.[2]

Kim Bong-han stamp issued in 1964

Stamps are issued by the Korea Stamp Corporation. The country has been a member of the Fédération Internationale de Philatélie since 15 June 1965. There is a museum, the Korea Stamp Museum, dedicated to philately in the country.[1]

History
Korea Stamp shop in Pyongyang

The first stamps of North Korea were issued on 12 March 1946:[5] Rose of Sharon and Samson Rock.[1] Stamps prior to 1974 dealt primarily with subjects relating specifically to North Korea, its foundation, Kim Il-sung and other patriotic themes. After 1974, in a bid to bring more hard currency into the country, North Korea began issuing stamps with wide-ranging themes (such as Joan of Arc, airships, sports and wildlife) and using English descriptions.[6]

Wording on the stamps is mostly in Korean. The term "DPR Korea" is written in English.

See also

References
  1. Choe Kwang Ho (2016). "Stamps Showcase 70 Years of the DPRK" (PDF). Pictorial KOREA. No. 3. pp. 32–33.
  2. "Nykänen pohjoiskorealaisessa postimerkissä". MTV uutiset (in Finnish). 18 September 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
  3. King 2011, p. 193.
  4. King 2011, p. 205.
  5. Korea. Sandafayre Stamp Atlas. Retrieved 28 August 2011.
  6. "Stamps of North Korea". "Michael Rogers Inc". Retrieved 2 February 2013.

Works cited

Further reading
  • Korea Stamp Corporation. Chosŏn upʻyo mongnok = Korean Stamp Catalogue, 1946-2006. Pyongyang: Korea Stamp Corporation, 2007 397p.
  • Maeda, Taizo. D.P.R.K. (North Korea) 1946-1957 plate identifier: a handbook. Tokyo: T. Maeda, 2000 117p.
  • Sanders, Pierre. "Mysterieuse Coree du Nord". Timbres magazine. (Jan 2009), p. 46-49.
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