Kevin MacKeown, Author at Korea Stamp Society

A DPRK Reprint Variety

July 10, 2019January 8, 2019 Kevin MacKeown12301 Comment

There is an irony in the fact that the reprint of, arguably, the rarest of all North Korean stamps, the 1948 Labor Law issue, SG N11, is among the most common of these often despised reprints, both in perforated and imperforated condition. It is also among the small number of such reprints of which postally […]

Unrecorded Postal Stationery from North Korea

May 15, 2019April 21, 2019 Kevin MacKeown22801 Comment

The Pyongyang published Korean Postal Stationery & Maxicard Catalogue of 1999 was an eye-opener for most of us in revealing the richness of postal stationery issued there over the years. It followed on Todd’s pioneering Catalogue of North Korean Postal Stationery 1947-1961 of 1997, and some listings in this Journal (Korean Philately, 34, No.2, 4-9; […]

A Note on the 2002 North Korean Surcharges

May 1, 2019May 2, 2019 Kevin MacKeown14272 Comments

Watching the endless stream of opportunistic issues, largely directed at gullible collectors, coming out from North Korea year after year, it is a pleasant philatelic experience to encounter something unexpected from this source. It has, of course, occurred in the recent past with the discovery of the domestic paper varieties – the ‘yellow paper’ issues […]

Some North Korean perforation varieties (early issues)

January 2, 2019January 5, 2019 Kevin MacKeown1033Leave a Comment

This short note is just to illustrate the variety of perforations that occur in early issues of North Korea. The four stamps in question are the small portrait regular issues of 1959, a 10 won value and new currency values of 2 chon, 5 chon and 10 chon. Shown in the table are the stamp […]

Mistaken Identity

December 19, 2018January 2, 2019 Kevin MacKeown14131 Comment

This return to an old question was motivated by the 2003 Scott listing of North Korea, where the man on this 1952 stamp (Sc30) is identified as General P’eng Teh-huai – he was the Commander of the Chinese forces in the Korean War, and later Chinese Defence Minister, and victim of the Cultural Revolution. In […]

A note on perforation varieties on North Korean stamps

October 3, 2018August 4, 2018 Kevin MacKeown1243Leave a Comment

Perforation varieties of early North Korean stamps, say pre-1960, are almost limitless, for example, in his exhibits Dr Maeda detects at least eight varieties for the single Labour Law issue of 1956, (SGN110). The later emphasis on issues for philatelic markets, however, brought about a standardization of production, resulting in much less variability. Almost none […]

War Validation Chops of North Korea

August 8, 2018August 25, 2018 Kevin MacKeown1506Leave a Comment

The end of the Korean War is already more than half a century in the past, and much of the philatelic activity engendered by that conflict has been extensively described and consolidated. A major aspect, however, has escaped attention until very recently. The Korean Stamp Catalogue, published by the Korean Stamp Corporation in Pyongyang, contains […]

North Korean Postal Stationery Varieties

June 18, 2018June 15, 2018 Kevin MacKeown1611Leave a Comment

All of the stamps of North Korea issued before 1950, whether reading from the right or from the left, are inscribed “postage stamp,” yu-pyo (우표). In 1950, however, some came to be inscribed “postage,” yu-pyon (우편). This is the case with all of the stamps in the 5th Anniversary of Liberation series, the Liberation of […]