Supporting Philatelists Since 1952
As an example of a postal rate that is difficult to explain, this April 1950 cover should come as no surprise to collectors of North Korean postal history. What makes it special, is the rate, 20 won. This is the highest pre-Korean War franking that I have recorded in nearly 20 years of specialising in […]
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One of the trade exhibitors that I had the good fortune to meet in Seoul, was Brebner Print of New Zealand. Represented at the show by General Manager Ricky Howes and Matt Tobin, Stamp Product Manager, Brebner is a privately-owned NZ business located in Napier. The company, established in 1978, entered into the stamp printing […]
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On 11 November 2025, the Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) will host Korea – The Unforgotten War, a one-day celebration dedicated to the history and philately of the Korean peninsula from Liberation in 1945 to the Armistice in 1953. Organised in association with the Korea Stamp Society (KSS), this special event coincides with the 75th […]
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A resounding triumph! PhilaKorea 2025 has, in many ways, now set the standard for future international stamp exhibitions. It will stand as a model for exceptional organisation, focus, harmony and success in delivering its objectives. Not just my opinion, I can assure you. Representing the KSS was an honour that was genuinely appreciated and recognised […]
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My flights are finally booked for my trip to PhilaKorea! This time I will be attending with added responsibility – as the UK Commissioner. I have received a few entries – none of them remotely connected with Korean material – so the ‘official’ nature of my visit is confirmed. Chances are that more UK exhibitors […]
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At some date after the signing of the Armistice on 27 July 1953, for reasons known only to the North Korean postal administration, a decision was made to introduce an airmail fee of 75 won. That this was likely due to the huge influx of members of the two Neutral Nations Commissions (NNRC and NNSC) […]
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The following is an expansion of two articles which were recently published in the American Philatelist and The London Philatelist. Rather than simply republishing them, they are combined and expanded here to tell a more detailed story. Mail to and from the largest POW components (excluding South Koreans) – American and British – are detailed […]
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Welcome to the latest edition of Korean Philately. This is a welcome return after many months impacted by the fallout from Covid and internal reorganization. All of that is now behind us and I am delighted to take over as Editor of KP. I am confident that we will resume our normal output of four […]
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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(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 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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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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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 […]
Continue Reading 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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