Japanese Offices in Korea Double-Circle Date Stamps (1876-1888)

Old Korea

This is a collection of date stamps used in Japanese Offices in Korea from 1876 to 1888. During this period the first type of CDS, “double-circle date stamps”, was used at Busan (or “Fusan” in Japanese), Wonsan (or “Gensan”), and Incheon (or “Ninsen”). The Japanese-language version of this exhibit was shown at JAPEX 2019 and STAMPEX JAPAN 2021 as part of a larger exhibit that covered the entire duration of the activities of the Imperial Japanese Post Offices in Korea from 1876 to 1945.

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Kenji Nakano
Collecting postal markings in Korea, especially those at Japanese offices in 1876-1945. Residing in New York.

2 thoughts on “Japanese Offices in Korea Double-Circle Date Stamps (1876-1888)

  1. Dear Sir
    I wonder if you can help me with a cover I have just acquired. It is addressed to Chemulpo, Korea,China. Posted from New Zealand in 1890 it has travelled to Hong Kong (possibly via P&O steamers).
    It is backstamped Hong Kong (JY 22 90) and there is a date stamp on the front from Nagasaki (1Aug 1890). There are no Korean receiving marks.
    I am a keen collector of New Zealand postal history and would like to understand how this cover travelled from Hong Kong to Japan to Korea and why it went via Japan.
    I would be happy to send scans of the cover.
    Kind Regards
    Paul Wreglesworth FRPSL FRPSNZ

  2. Sir, I am sorry that I did not realize this message until now. The cover is dated when the Korean postal service was in an 11-year suspension and the only postal service available was that of Japan. Modern Korean postal service was launched in 1884, but was immediately terminated when a coup d’état by reform-minded officials led by the postmaster general failed. It was not until 1895 that the service resumed. Korea joined the Universal Postal Union in 1900. In the meantime, Japan, a UPU member since 1877, had been operating its post offices in Fusan (Busan), Gensan (Wonsan), and Ninsen (Incheon) aka Chemulpo. From Nagasaki, I gather the mail went to Chemulpo via Fusan.

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