2018 Christmas Seals win The Union second prize

The 2018 Christmas Seals produced by the Korean National Tuberculosis Association (대한결핵협회 / KNTA) won the second prize at the 49th Union World Conference on Lung Health held in The Hague (The Netherlands) by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (“The Union” / IUATLD). Heritage and Organisational Members from nine countries, such as India, Hong Kong and […]

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KSC5181-5182: Pyongyang Primary School for Orphans and Pyongyang Middle School for Orphans

(News from 조선우표사 / Korea Stamp Corporation) On 25 December 2018 the 조선우표사 / Korea Stamp Corporation issued two stamp sheets with four stamps showing the Pyongyang Primary School for Orphans and Pyongyang Middle School for Orphans. 

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Dr. Hall’s Christmas and New Year Seal Collection Donation to the Smithsonian

In reading old issues of Korean Philatelic (KP) before scanning for the new KSS website, I noticed that Dr. Sherwood Hall’s personal collection of Christmas and New Year’s seals was donated to the Smithsonian Institute in 1972. I was not even aware of this collection. Then in the May, 1974 issue of the KP, James […]

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Different perforations for same stamps?

An envelope sent to me by a Korean stamp dealer showed me something I hadn’t thought about before: the exact same stamp with different perforations. The envelope comes with four different souvenir sheets related to (philatelic) exhibitions, the Word Fair EXPO 93 in Taejeon in 1993 and the international philatelic exhibition known as PhilaKorea in […]

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South Korean booklets and color bars (II)

This is Part 2 of the BOOKLETS WITH COLOR BARS article. On 1/24/1994 the Ministry issued the first “Portable Booklet” to commemorate the 21st U.P.U. Congress (3rd issue). This issue started the color bars for a total of 15 issues through 3/27/1996. All of these were in the “Portable Booklet” format. For explanation see part […]

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Do These Korean Stamps Really Exist? Time for a Quick Update.

Previously, in the forum, I had posted the comment/question highlighted below, about whether some of the Korean stamps I have been looking for to add to my collection, really exist. My research began in earnest when I began to help the KSS find the old missing Korean Philatelic (KP) magazines so that they can be […]

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Reader’s Question: Information needed about overprints on 1946 stamps

[Editor] I have received a request for more information about the following figure. What we know is that they have first day cancels, but for other stamps. They were apparently cancelled for the opening of the national assembly. Please let us know what more you might know about these stamps. Thanks. 

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The 1935 Korean Christmas and New Year Seal

In 1935, the Korean United Christmas Seal Committee released a new design that was larger than previous seals. This seal shows two girls playing on a seesaw while another child watches, with the Diamond Mountains, a well known landscape and tourist attraction in northern Korea, in the background. The jumping on the seesaw, to propel […]

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South Korean souvenir sheets by the numbers

KPSC collectors often focus their attention on specific topics, issues or themes. Besides these traditional aspects of collecting there are also other interesting features worth considering. Two examples are shown in this text. One shows the number of souvenir sheets issued each year by the KPSC since 1965. The second chart shows the change in […]

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KSC5180E: Kimilsungia and Kimjongilia, the Immortal Flowers

(News from 조선우표사 / Korea Stamp Corporation) On 15 November 2018 the 조선우표사 / Korea Stamp Corporation issued a stamp showing the Kimilsungia and Kimjongilia, the so-called “Immortal Flowers”. At the same time the KSC also issued a stamp showing a pine tree, which is the “National Tree of the DPRK”.

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North Korean postal history during the Korean War 1950-1953 (III)

This article was originally published in The London Philatelist, Volume 123 Issue 1416 in June 2014. It is reprinted here with permission of the author, Anthony Bard, who besides being a member of the RPSL is also a member of the KSS. He is well-known for his highly specialized North Korea collection. The article is […]

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Foreign mail postmarks of Pusan (1945-55)

Over the years many philatelists have written for the KSS magazine Korean Philately. In pre-internet days it was difficult to later find such information again. Here is an example of a short specialized article written by Joseph Comroe for the May 1971 edition of KP about the foreign mail postmarks used by the Busan/부산 (then […]

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Domestic Printing Versus International Printing Of DPRK Stamps (III)

Previously I have written an article on North Korea’s “Remarkable Tourist Market Sheet” stamps. KSS member Mr. Chen Yi-Fu stated that the article referred to so-called “stamps for domestic use”. In the Korean Stamp Catalogue, the 2 stamps are No. 3758 & 3760, issued in 8×3 small sheets for international collectors. He also mentioned that […]

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