My Journey to PHILAKOREA 2009: North Korean Stamps

North Korea

(Originally published in Korean Philately Vol LIII No. 3 (August 2008)) I went back to the Seoul Stamp Co. booth to see what I could find out about the North Korean stamps that they had on display. I found out that the 80% that I understood yesterday to be the price was actually the discount. So buyers could pick up “new, mint” stamps at only 20% of catalogue. The next question, of course, was which catalogue? The answer was the North Korean catalogue. I also asked the source of the North Korean stock, and his response was, “a friend.”

The dealer and I were having quite a difficult time communicating, but there was a man who was looking through stock who started to talk with me. It turned out that he is a small-time dealer from China. So we began a conversation about his experiences with North Korean stamps. He had been to North Korea three times, and each time he was there he visited a post office. But all he could find were definitive stamps, and he was always accompanied by a North Korean official, so he was not able to ask any probing questions.

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Originally published in Korean Philately Vol LIII No. 3 (August 2008)
This article was originally published in 2008. It was written by Gary McLean, who was at the time the editor of Korean Philately magazine. This particular issue can be downloaded from our Korean Philately download pages by KSS members. Not a member yet? You can join for free right now by filling out our registration form!
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