Postal cards issued for 70th anniversary of Korean War

(News from 우정사업본부 / KoreaPost) On 30 December 2020 KoreaPost issued a set of four postal cards to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the start of the Korean War. The cards show several types of imagery, including medals and war artists’ drawings. The cards come in two distinctly different designs, one with a large image […]

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Korean forgeries (VII): 10 poon issued July 22 1895 (1st Printing); 1896 (2nd Printing) etc.

The second stamp in the Taegeuk series is the 10 poon. The stamp is designated Scott #7 deep blue (both printings), KPSC #4 (1st printing; #4a 2nd printing and Minkus #4. Black and white images and data are from Brady-Tyler, Zirkel, G. La Francesca and colour images and data are from MikeG Canada (Stampboards), Florian […]

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The South Korean Stamp Scene (Part 8)

What follows is an update on my article of 1996 about the investment potential of South Korean stamps. In 1972 (when stamps were touted as investments) Linn’s Weekly Stamp News and others started “Investment Suggestions” which is now called the “Tip of the Week”. In about 1980 Linn’s began a “Trends of Stamp Values” which […]

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KSC5300-5314: Military Parade Held in Celebration of the 75th Anniversary of Founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea

(News from 조선우표사 / Korea Stamp Corporation) On 20 December 2020 the Korea Stamp Corporation issued a series of stamps titled “Military Parade Held in Celebration of the 75th Anniversary of Founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea”. As the KSC describes them, these “stamps were issued to reflect the military parade held in celebration […]

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KPC3471-3472: Korea-Russia Joint Issue

(News from 우정사업본부 / KoreaPost) On 15 December 2020 KoreaPost issued a set of stamps jointly issued with Russia. Both stamps show bears, one for Russia (the Ursus arctos arctos) and one for Korea (the Ursus thibetanus ussuricus). The Ussuri black bear (Ursus thibetanus ussuricus), also known as the Manchurian black bear, is a large […]

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Flags of Countries Participating in the Korean War: Flag Errors

In 1951 Korea issued a series of 42 stamps featuring flags of 21 countries that provided assistance in the Korean War (June 1950- July1953). Armed forces were sent from 16 United Nations countries, most from the United States. Five others, including Italy, the only Non-member State to participate (becoming a member on 14 December 1955), […]

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Post-war reconstruction of South Korea through 1973 tourism stamp

After the Korean War for well over a decade the economic development of South Korea was at a stand still. The country was considered an economic “basket case”. However, during Park Chung-hee’s reign the country began to grow rapidly. One visible effect were the many newly constructed roads and bridges, which featured a lot on […]

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New KSS Member Wishes to Trade for Used North Korean Stamps

My name is Paul Scholtens and I live in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. During the Covid-19 pandemic I have been doing a lot of work on my collection. I am a 74 years old, social and general interest collector who collects stamps from all over the world. I like the information you can […]

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Postal cards for 2020 “National Stamp Exhibition” issued

(News from 우정사업본부 / KoreaPost) On 4 December 2020 KoreaPost issued a set of four postal cards to commemorate the 2020 National Stamp Exhibition (2020 전국우표전시회). These cards are the first new postal cards issued by KoreaPost in 2020, the most recent (previous) issue was for the 2019 stamp exhibition. Due to the corona virus […]

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The South Korean Stamp Scene (Part 7)

What follows is an update on my article of 1996 about the investment potential of South Korean stamps. In 1972 (when stamps were touted as investments) Linn’s Weekly Stamp News and others started “Investment Suggestions” which is now called the “Tip of the Week”. In about 1980 Linn’s began a “Trends of Stamp Values” which […]

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APS Stamp Chat with KSS’s Professor James Grayson ‘North and South Korea: The First Issues after the Second World War’

Professor James H. Grayson, a member of the KSS since 2000, was invited to speak on the American Philatelic Society’s ‘Stamp Chat’ internet discussion group.  His subject was ‘North and South Korea: The first issues after the Second World’.  He uses a semiotic approach to understanding the designs of stamps to discover the meanings which […]

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KPC3465-3468: Philately Week

(News from 우정사업본부 / KoreaPost) On 20 November 2020 KoreaPost issued a series of stamps commemorating philatelic week in Korea. This is a yearly returning stamp series, which in different forms (for instance as “postal week”) has been around since the 1960s. The four stamps have all sorts of themes. KSC3465 is “when spring comes […]

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North Korea: from Liberation to War (1945-1950)

Japanese control of Korea ended with the surrender on 15 August 1945 of the Imperial armed forces. Decisions made at the Yalta Conference in February 1945 were implemented after the surrender. The primary actions taken were the division of the Korean peninsula arbitrarily at the 38th Parallel, with the northern zone to be occupied by […]

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