Supporting Philatelists Since 1952
A problem which is very uncommon in most parts of the world is the Korean question of what to do with the fact that Koreans could use either (Korean) hangul or (Chinese) hanja characters when sending a telegram? While they can convey exactly the same message in Korean, the two writing systems are completely different […]
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A KSS member asks about North Korean revenue stamps: what do we know about these? “A small number of stamps, many duplicates. I do not specifically collect such stamps, but sometimes buy them. Are these stamps all North Korean? I read that there is a catalog of Korean (or North Korean) revenue stamps, but I […]
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October 2021 marked 70 years of the Korea Stamp Society! Really, it did. But did you know about it? Probably not, if only for the simple reason that until then nobody had advertised this fact. (We did in Korean Philately, have a look at the Q4 2021 edition!) Here are two other anniversaries related to […]
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It should not come as a surprise that a specialized stamp society such as the KSS has among its membership quite a few highly specialized members. However, it does sometimes feel as if the KSS has more of those specialized members than quite a few other stamp societies. It is of course purely anecdotal, but […]
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During the Korean War (1950-1953) and for at least a decade after the war South Korea (ROK) was counted amongst the poorest nations in the world. As late as the early 1960s the average Ethiopian or Ugandan was richer than the average South Korean. And yes, even the average North Korean was (probably) richer than […]
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One of the most interesting types of (philatelic) articles are in my opinion the ones which have a personal connection. Take for instance the KSS members who used to work in Korea in the 1960s and 1970s. At that time they wrote quite a few articles on the philatelic situation on the ground, which has […]
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Korea is a peninsula that lies in the sea from China and Siberia towards Japan. It has since 1945 effectively consisted of two parts, North and South. The history of this division has nothing to do with Korea itself, but the effect is that since 1948 there are two countries, the “DPRK” (North) and the […]
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Despite being mortal enemies, North and South Korea agree on thing: Dokdo, the group of rocks in the middle of the “Sea of Japan” or “East Sea” is Korean and not Japanese. The international name for Dokdo is officially “Liancourt Rocks”, a name often found on maps to avoid offending either Korea or Japan, but […]
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For several years (starting in 2018) the KSS has been listing new stamp issues from North Korea. With these new issues the stamp issuing entity of the DPRK, the Korea Stamp Corporation (KSC), always releases a new issue leaflet. This issue shows details of the stamps, while at the same time doubling as an order […]
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The Korea Stamp Corporation, the stamp issuing organization of the DPRK (North Korea), generally creates stamp along several lines of themes. One of those common themes is something along the lines of “the eternal fight for the motherland against our enemies”. The thing is: the official feelings towards these enemies, whomever they may be (usually […]
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Last year this cover was for sale on Ebay. I didn’t buy it, but was intrigued by it. The original reason to be interested was because of the seal on the back. This turned out to be an American anti-polio Easter seal, which just like the Korean anti-tuberculosis Christmas seals were sold to raise money […]
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Something not seen often are covers sent between family members and so-called “KATUSA”. KATUSA or “Korean Augmentation To the United States Army” were Korean men who were part of the US Eight Army from July 1950 onwards. Some were drafted by force, some joined by applying, but either way, these Koreans were a common sight […]
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Since first seeing a South Korean revenue stamp in 2010 (when I needed one for a visa document while already in Korea) I have been collecting information about Korean revenue stamps. What is noticeable in my database of 6000+ notes on Korean revenue stamps that some stamps are very easy to collect “used on document” […]
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(News from 조선우표사 / Korea Stamp Corporation) On 7 April 2021 the Korea Stamp Corporation issued a set of a stamp and a souvenir sheet commemorating the “60th Anniv. of Pukchong Enlarged Meeting of the Presidium of the WPK Central Committee”. The text the KSC released for this issue states: “Pukchong Enlarged Meeting of the […]
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(News from 우정사업본부 / KoreaPost) On 4 April 2021 KoreaPost issued a set of stamps showing parts of a large classical Korean folding screen, with the individual images of the screen used for the designs of individual stamps. The whole series was also issued in a souvenir sheet, which shows the whole screen.
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(News from 우정사업본부 / KoreaPost) On 25 March 2021 KoreaPost issued a set of three stamps showing aircraft produced in Korea. Last year’s series showed helicopters produced by Korea Aerospace Industries, this year shows a combination of types of aircraft: the T-50B jet, the KUH-1 helicopter and the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) RQ-101. Interestingly, the […]
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(News from 조선우표사 / Korea Stamp Corporation) On 24 March 2021 the Korea Stamp Corporation issued a set of stamps showing animals. These animals are all indigenous to the Korean peninsula. The set of four stamps come in the same value, 30 (DPRK) won each, and are available in sheets as well. At the same […]
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(News from 우정사업본부 / KoreaPost) On 11 March 2021 KoreaPost issued a set of stamps showing historical Korean buildings. Last year the series showed historical architecture in general, this year the series shows Neo-Confucian academies. These used to be important centers of learning in Korea. The academies on the stamps are located in Andong (안동), […]
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(News from 우정사업본부 / KoreaPost) On 11 March 2021 KoreaPost issued a set of stamps showing historical Korean buildings. Last year the series showed historical architecture in general, this year the series shows Neo-Confucian academies. These used to be important centers of learning in Korea. The academies on the stamps are located in Andong (안동), […]
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(News from 조선우표사 / Korea Stamp Corporation) On 10 March 2021 the Korea Stamp Corporation issued a series of stamps showing natural monuments of KOrea, such as a magnolia growing on Mount Taesong and the oldest appletree in the DPRK.
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