South Korean hwan

The hwan was the currency of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) between February 15, 1953 and June 9, 1962.

South Korean hwan
대한민국 환 (in Korean)
大韓民國圜 (Hanja)
Denominations
Subunit
 1/100jeon (전/錢)
Never used
PluralThe language(s) of this currency do(es) not have a morphological plural distinction.
Banknotes1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000 hwan
Coins10, 50, 100 hwan
Demographics
User(s)Republic of Korea
Issuance
Central bankBank of Korea
 Websitewww.bok.or.kr
PrinterKorea Minting and Security Printing Corporation
 Websiteenglish.komsco.com
MintPhiladelphia Mint
This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete.
South Korean hwan
1 hwan note
Korean name
Hangul
환
Hanja
圜
Revised Romanizationhwan
McCune–Reischauerhwan

History

Due to the devaluation of the first South Korean won (from 15 won to the U.S. dollar in 1945 to 6000 won to the dollar in 1953), the hwan was introduced in 1953 at the rate of 1 hwan = 100 won. The hwan was nominally subdivided into 100 jeon but the lowest denomination issued was 1 hwan. The hwan also suffered from inflation and a series of devaluations occurred.

Pegs for the South Korean hwan
Date introducedValue of U.S. dollar in hwan
February 15, 195360
15 December 1953180
August 15, 1955500
February 23, 1960650
January 1, 19611000
February 2, 19611250

In 1962, the second South Korean won was reintroduced at a rate of 1 won = 10 hwan, after which inflation finally slowed down.

Coins

In 1959, coins were introduced in denominations of 10, 50 and 100 hwan. They were minted by the Philadelphia Mint.

Hwan Coins (in Korean)
ImageValueTechnical parametersDescriptionDate of
ObverseReverseDiameterMassCompositionObverseReversefirst mintingissuewithdrawal
10 hwan 19.1 mm 2.46 g Copper 95%
Zinc 5%		 Rose of Sharon, value, bank title (Hangul) Value (digit), "Republic of Korea", year of minting 1959 (Korean calendar 4292) October 20, 1959 March 22, 1975
50 hwan 22.86 mm 3.69 g Copper 70%
Zinc 18%
Nickel 12%		 Geobukseon, value, bank title (Hangul) Value (digit), "Republic of Korea", year of minting 1959 (Korean calendar 4292) October 20, 1959 March 22, 1975
100 hwan 26.0 mm 6.74 g Cupronickel
Copper 75%
Nickel 25%		 Lee Sung-man, value, bank title (Hangul) October 30, 1959 June 10, 1962
These images are to scale at 2.5 pixels per millimetre. For table standards, see the coin specification table.

The 10 and 50 hwan coins continued to circulate until March 22, 1975 but the 100 hwan coins were withdrawn on June 10, 1962.

Banknotes

In 1953, banknotes were introduced in denominations of 1, 5, 10, 100 and 1000 hwan. Some of these notes were printed in the U.S. and gave the denomination in English and Hangul as won. 500 hwan notes were introduced in 1956, followed by 1000 hwan in 1957 and 50 hwan in 1958.

American printed notes

The first hwan notes were printed by the United States Government Printing Office. All Hanja and Hangul inscription on both the obverse and reverse sides of these notes are written right to left (traditional direction), instead of the modern (Westernized) left to right.

They have a few obvious defects. The term "hwan" is written in Hanja (圜) while "won" is written in Hangul (원) and English. Those problems were attributed to an urgent need for new banknotes and the change in currency name, as well as the decision to commission the new notes to be manufactured in the United States.[1] Unaware banknote catalog editors may erroneously categorize these notes as part of the old won system, such as the Standard Catalog of World Paper Money by Albert Pick.

American printed hwan notes (in Korean)
ImageValueDimensionsMain colourDescriptionDate of
ObverseReverseObverseReverseissuewithdrawal
1 hwan 111 × 54 mm Pink Bank name (Hanja), value (Hangul and Hanja) Bank of Korea's symbol February 17, 1953 June 10, 1962
5 hwan Red
10 hwan 156 × 66 mm Purple Bank name (Hanja), value (Hangul and Hanja), Geobukseon Bank of Korea's symbol
100 hwan Green
1000 hwan Brown
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

Korean printed notes
Korean printed hwan notes (in Korean)
ImageValueDimensionsDescriptionDate of
ObverseReverseObverseReverseissuewithdrawal
10 hwan 156 × 66 mm Namdaemun Haegeumgang near Geoje March 17, 1953 June 10, 1962
December 15, 1953
50 hwan 149 × 66 mm Independence Gate Yi Sun-sin's bronze statue, Geobukseon August 15, 1958
100 hwan 156 × 66 mm Lee Sung-man Independence Gate December 18, 1953
February 1, 1954
Value March 26, 1957
Mother and her child holding a savings account booklet Independence Gate May 16, 1962
500 hwan 156 × 73 mm Lee Sung-man Value March 26, 1956
August 15, 1958
Sejong the Great Main building of the Bank of Korea April 19, 1961
1000 hwan 166 × 73 mm Lee Sung-man Bank of Korea's symbol March 26, 1957
165 × 73 mm Sejong the Great Torch August 15, 1960
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixel per millimetre. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.

See also

References
  1. Bank of Korea. 우리나라의 화폐, 1953년~1962년 (in Korean). Archived from the original on March 10, 2007. Retrieved December 4, 2006. 긴급통화조치로 화폐단위가 圓에서 圜으로 바뀌었음에도 이 당시 은행권은 圜을 '원'으로 표기하고 있는데 이는 동 은행권이 긴급통화조치의 결정 이전에 다른 용도로 미국연방인쇄국에서 제조된 것이기 때문." → Translation: "With the Emergency Currency Measures, and also the exchange of currency from the won to the hwan, at the time "won" was inscribed for "hwan" on the new banknotes; and that's because, as a result of a previous Emergency Currency Measure's decision, these new notes to be issued were to be manufactured by the US Government Printing Office.
Preceded by:
South Korean won (1945)
Reason: inflation
Ratio: 1 hwan = 100 won		 Currency of South Korea
1953 – 1962		 Succeeded by:
South Korean won
Reason: inflation
Ratio: 1 won = 10 hwan
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