The “Specialized Catalogue of Korean Stamps” published in 2023 presents tables concerning the issuance quantities of Korean Empire stamps, as does Mizuhara Meiso’s “Modern Postal History of Korea“. These tables reiterate previously published data. A detailed examination reveals discrepancies between the reported quantities of Plum Blossom regular stamps (이화 보통우표) and Falcon regular stamps (독수리 보통우표) and the stamps handed over to Japan under joint Korean-Japanese postal agreements, raising questions about their accuracy.
On page 43 of the Specialized Catalogue, there is a table related to the issuance of Plum Blossom stamps. Page 50 states, “Total issuance of 13 types, approximately 3 million stamps (according to Jin Gi-hong).” Page 55 provides a table showing “Types of Korean stamps and original plates handed over to Japan (quoted from Jin Gi-hong).” The table on page 55 reflects statistics from the official report by the Japanese Korean Communications Business Transfer Committee, which should be considered reliable. Although quantities of Plum Blossom and Falcon stamps are combined, their respective ratios remain unclear.
