We have previously posted articles on the Korea Stamp Society’s (KSS) website about charity seals that were issued by Soviet Bloc countries which supported North Korea during the Korean War. And a follow up article on these charity seals was published in the Korean Philately magazine Vol. 58, No. 2 (2022).
A KSS member from Hungary, Tamás Nagy, who supplied much of the material for those articles, later pointed out to this author that there were also actual postage stamps that honoured North Korea shortly after the Armistice of the Korean War. He sent images of a commemorative stamp from Czechoslovakia, a member of the Soviet Bloc at that time. A stamp honoring Czechoslovakia’s friendship with North Korea was issued on October 11, 1953 showing a Czech and Korean girl, Scott 620.
Recently the author obtained a set of commemorative stamps issued during the Korean War by Turkey which commemorates the participation of Turkey in the Korean War. Turkey was a member of the UN forces that fought on South Korea’s side of the War. Turkey issued a set of four stamps, 15k, 20k, 30k and 60k, Scott 1079 -1082 on September 25, 1952. An interesting detail about the 30k stamp is that it shows a Turkish soldier showing/reading a comic book to a young Korean girl.
After seeing the stamp from Czechoslovakia and finding the set of four stamps from Turkey, the author wonders if there are many stamps from other nations which supported either side of the Korean War, either from the North Korea or the South Korean side of the War?
If any of our members know of other stamps with this theme of the Korean War, please contact us.
