The September 2026 Issue of Woopyo: A broad issue with a strong postal-history core

The September 2026 issue of Woopyo, published on 1 September by the Korea Philatelic Federation (한국우취연합), has an unusually broad range. Its contents move from current Korean stamp issues and exhibition affairs to detailed studies of Korean postal history, the Munwi stamps, post-Liberation provisional overprints and postal stationery. Alongside these are articles on tourist datestamps, […]

Continue Reading

Early Postal Items from the Temporary Postal Agencies (1898-1905)

Up to now, this series has covered the various public notices issued prior to the establishment of the temporary postal agencies, along with the installation of such agencies in the various counties and revisions to the related early regulations. Beginning with this installment, I will introduce materials primarily from my own collection.

Continue Reading

Woo Jang-choon, Who Saved Korean Rural Communities through Seed Development

Woo Jang-choon (우장춘) was a world-renowned plant breeder who worked in Japan. As an agronomist researching breeding science, a field that combined genetics and crop improvement, he conducted research from 1937 at the research farm of Takii Seed Company in Japan, where he worked on improving vegetable seeds such as cabbage, radish, and Chinese cabbage. […]

Continue Reading

Review of the August 2026 Issue of Woopyo

The August 2026 issue of Woopyo, issue no. 727, was published on 1 August by the Korea Philatelic Federation (한국우취연합). Its contents range from Korean Empire postal administration and the production history of the first Korean stamps to Korean War military mail, post-liberation overprints, international exhibition practice, postal stationery and thematic collecting. Research into Korean […]

Continue Reading

The Robert C. Jones Collection Comes to Auction

A collection of South Korean stamps formed by Robert C. Jones (1915-1999), one of the most active members of the Korea Stamp Society during its early decades, will be offered by Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions in August 2026. The collection appears as Lot 1513 in Kelleher Sale 851, Collections, Stocks & Accumulations of the World. […]

Continue Reading

Memories of One’s First Enthusiasm Are Always Exciting and Beautiful

The boy who, in childhood, would hold a single stamp and gaze at it endlessly has, before he knew it, spent more than half a century with stamps, engraving many memories into his mind and arriving at the present day. Just as the phrase from a public-interest advertisement once seen on television said, “A book […]

Continue Reading

Japanese Prisoner of War (POW) Mail

In general, POW mail was an arrangement operated under the supervision of the camp commander (POW administrator), serving as a humanitarian system that allowed prisoners to send and receive letters. Today, it is widely used in various thematic philatelic exhibits. The basic principles of POW mail were established in the annex of the Convention with […]

Continue Reading

Japanese-Era Business Reply Card Used in Korea

Before email became the preferred tool of direct marketers, one of the most common ways to solicit orders or gather commercial leads was by sending large quantities of business-to-business mail through the postal system. For postal operators this was a significant source of revenue, and advertising cards, circulars, reply cards and enquiry forms were a […]

Continue Reading

KSC7288: 65th Anniv. of Conclusion of the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the DPRK and the PRC

(News from 조선우표사 / Korea Stamp Corporation) On 11 July 2026 the Korea Stamp Corporation issued a stamp commemorating the  “65th Anniv. of Conclusion of the Treaty on Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance between the DPRK and the PRC”.

Continue Reading

KSC7287: Comrade Kim Jong Un, General Secretary of WPK and President of State Affairs of DPRK, Meets Comrade Xi Jinping, General Secretary of Central Committee of CPC and President of PRC, in Pyongyang

(News from 조선우표사 / Korea Stamp Corporation) On 10 July 2026 the Korea Stamp Corporation issued a stamp commemorating that  “Comrade Kim Jong Un, General Secretary of WPK and President of State Affairs of DPRK, Meets Comrade Xi Jinping, General Secretary of Central Committee of CPC and President of PRC, in Pyongyang”.

Continue Reading

Korean Philatelic News for July 2026

The following news items are translated from the July 2026 issue of Woopyo Magazine, the monthly philatelic magazine published in Korea. The news section was compiled and written by Jin Hur, who regularly reports on activities within the Korean philatelic community, including meetings of the Korea Philatelic Federation, preparations for national exhibitions, and new stamp-related […]

Continue Reading

Woopyo, July 2026: Korean Postal History in Close Focus

The July 2026 issue of Woopyo is a particularly substantial number for readers interested in Korean postal history. While it contains the magazine’s usual mixture of new-issue information, society news, international philatelic notes, thematic material and auctions, its real strength lies in a group of serious Korean philatelic studies. These range from early international postal […]

Continue Reading

Military Postal Cards Used by the Japanese Army from the Russo-Japanese War to the Pacific War

When the Japanese Navy launched a surprise attack on the Russian Pacific Fleet stationed at Port Arthur (旅順港) on February 8, 1904, thereby igniting the Russo-Japanese War, the Japanese government established the “Regulations on Military Mail” (Imperial Ordinance No. 19) and the “Military Mail Rules” (Ministry of Communications Official Notice No. 6). These measures allowed […]

Continue Reading

Woopyo, June 2026: Korean Postal History, Transitional Issues and the Practice of Philatelic Study

The June 2026 issue of Woopyo is a substantial and varied number, but its centre of gravity lies clearly in Korean postal history and the study of difficult transitional material. The issue opens with Ryu Sang-beom’s (류상범) opinion article, “Hoping for the Success of the 2026 Korea Stamp Exhibition” (2026 대한민국우표전시회의 성공을 바라며), a timely […]

Continue Reading

Q&A: Details on this 1904-05 Russo-Japanese War cover?

We received a question from a reader through our Facebook page. The question was: “Dear Korea Stamp Society, I have in my collection this military stationery letter that to my knowledge was sent from Korea to Japan by probably Japanese soldier. Could it be possibly for you to help me identify information written on this […]

Continue Reading