Russian Fieldpost in North Korea, 1950?

Outside the USSR, after 1946 field post correspondence was only used by Soviet troops in occupied territories (e.g., Korea, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, etc.). Registered letters sent through field post offices after 1946 are extremely rare and normally have NO censor mark. Moreover, no international letters sent with Field Post cancellations from the Russian army […]

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Testing the South Korean postal system after first liberation of Seoul

Shown here are two cards, one sent by correspondent Richard Johnston, the other by correspondent Charles Grutzner, both to their own (postal) addres. Neither were actually handled handled by the US Army-Air Force Postal Service, which means they probably do not qualify as ‘private usage’ in this instance. (See this KP article for the background […]

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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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Custodian Force, India in Korea 1953-1954

This cover illustrates the use of stamps overprinted for the Custodian Force, India (CFI). This was a deployment of Indian forces, including the 60th Parachute Field Ambulance unit (which had been in Korea from November 1950) to oversee the repatriation of POWs after the armistice. The CFI was in Korea from late September 1953 until […]

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Postal Stationery presented to the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army in North Korea 1952-3 (Part II)

The Chinese People’s Volunteer Army (CPV) had entered North Korea in October 1950, in response to the perceived threat to the year-old People’s Republic of China from the rapidly-advancing UN forces during the fifth month of the Korean War. The swift advances made by the (North) Korean People’s Army after they crossed the 38th Parallel […]

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Postal Stationery presented to the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army in North Korea 1952-3 (Part I)

The Chinese People’s Volunteer Army (CPV) had entered North Korea in October 1950, in response to the perceived threat to the year-old People’s Republic of China from the rapidly-advancing UN forces during the fifth month of the Korean War. The swift advances made by the (North) Korean People’s Army after they crossed the 38th Parallel […]

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Use of APO services by non-military organizations in Korea in the 1940-1950s

Affording missionary organisations the facility of using APO numbers was something that began with the US occupation of South Korea after WW2. The USA Military Government in Korea started its own parallel Army Post Office organisation on landing in September 1945. Approved missionary organisations, together with commercial suppliers to the military (usually Korean subsidiaries of […]

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North – South: A unique cover (Backgrounds and Images)

(Note: this article is a follow-up to the article from Lloyd Heath republished in December 2019.) I am happy to be able to provide an illustration (Fig. 1), and some observations, of this extremely special item of post-war Korean postal history. The sender’s address on this cover (using the Northern Korean transliteration of place names) […]

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The August 1955 Chongjin Booklet

The booklet was issued by the Ministry of Communications for the North Hamgyong Post Office, as part of the country-wide 10th anniversary of the Liberation commemoration, in August 1955. A set of commemorative stamps (all the stamps are perf 11), a postal stationery envelope and an extensive set of commemorative photographic postcards were produced for […]

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The 1950 DPRK overprints on 1949 ROK stamps postally used?

Every philatelic area and era has its “Are these real or not?” subjects. Collecting expensive “specialties” such as overprints or surcharges on top of relatively cheap stamps, making it especially worthwhile to create forgeries for the philatelic market, without proper knowledge is asking for trouble. Overprints and surcharges, especially when used in very limited numbers […]

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North Korean postal history during the Korean War 1950-1953 (III)

This article was originally published in The London Philatelist, Volume 123 Issue 1416 in June 2014. It is reprinted here with permission of the author, Anthony Bard, who besides being a member of the RPSL is also a member of the KSS. He is well-known for his highly specialized North Korea collection. The article is […]

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North Korean postal history during the Korean War 1950-1953 (II)

This article was originally published in The London Philatelist, Volume 123 Issue 1416 in June 2014. It is reprinted here with permission of the author, Anthony Bard, who besides being a member of the RPSL is also a member of the KSS. He is well-known for his highly specialized North Korea collection. The article is […]

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North Korean postal history during the Korean War 1950-1953 (I)

This article was originally published in The London Philatelist, Volume 123 Issue 1416 in June 2014. It is reprinted here with permission of the author, Anthony Bard, who besides being a member of the RPSL is also a member of the KSS. He is well-known for his highly specialized North Korea collection. The article is […]

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