Supporting Philatelists Since 1952
Recently, in going over my Korean inflationary issues and presentation sheets, I was struck by a cancellation that is almost too perfect for a routine postal strike: neat, clean, sharp and almost printed-looking. Reviewing KOREAN PHILATELY, I found I am not alone in my suspicion – but its status is still indeterminate.
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The printed matter (“Drukwerk”) cover shown here was mailed aboard the frigate Hr. Ms. ”Johan Maurits van Nassau” in January 1953. Its destination was Yokohama, Japan. The frigate was on assignment in Korean waters during the Korean War. Upon the frigate’s arrival on January 22, 1953 in Yokohama, Japan the letter was delivered to a […]
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(News from 조선우표사 / Korea Stamp Corporation) On 15 April 2020 the Korea Stamp Corporation issued a stamp and a souvenir sheet “to mark 108th birthday of President Kim Il Sung.”
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(News from 조선우표사 / Korea Stamp Corporation) On 12 April 2020 the Korea Stamp Corporation issued a sheetlet commemorating the Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon. The sheetlet consists of two different stamps, one showing the logo and cup of the Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon, the other showing a participant running the marathon.
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Korean girl-bands (and boy-bands) are very popular in East Asia. So popular that pretty much anything with one of these bands on them will sell. However, one wonders whether these publicity examples from KoreaPost actually helped selling more “My Own Stamps” stamps.
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Yes, Mr. Zip has come to Korea. After starting out in 1959 in Great Britain, according to an announcement of the Korean Philatelic Center, he began working in Korea on July 1, 1970. Postal reform has been recognized as a need by many countries, a reform which is concerned primarily with reducing costs and improving […]
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The official (state) postal organization of North Korea, the Korea Stamp Corporation, has published the themes and dates for the 2020 stamp releases of the DPRK. The January and February releases on the list are already known of course, but many other themes were shown for the first time with the release of the list.
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As I write these words (in 1956), Lt. Lee Chang Sung is leaving our shores for his native Korea after four months or so in our country, first at Great Lakes Ills., and the most of 8 weeks at San Diego. He has been a great help to us these past three months. Translating, explaining […]
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The current crisis with the corona virus has created the need for the Korean government to make as many Koreans as possible aware of the risk. Currently a series of campaigns raising awareness of how to avoid getting sick is on-going. KoreaPost has joined in by creating this cartoon, a “webtoon”, reminding people to help […]
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One of the interesting subtopics for a collection of Korean War covers is that of “Hubba-Hubba” covers. These have hand-struck cachets from rubber stamps and usually, but not always, have “HUBBA-HUBBA” somewhere in the design. Covers with these markings represent a form of “patriotic envelope” which has derived from the elaborate, printed envelopes of the […]
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The death of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) meant a surge of interest in Eisenhower related philatelic material. Eisenhower however had always been relatively popular in Korea, especially because of his support for South Korea during the Korean War and his visit to Korea in the 1950s.
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In the summer of 1964 I received the following letter from a French gentleman: “Enclosed is $3000.00 plus in Korea No. l’s and 2’s in singles, pairs and combinations. All stamps are tied on piece and with the exception of one or two stamps the condition is very fine or superb. As I do not […]
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Fishing has long been important in the Korean and Japanese economies. While coastal fishing was the major source for marine foods in the past, beginning with the first “Five Year Plan” in 1962 Korea has increased its harvest of deep-sea fish by more than twenty-fold.
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On August 8, 1983, Forrest W. Calkins wrote the following letter to Frank Allard (only an excerpt is included), along with the enclosure referenced in the paragraph: “Over the weekend I did some digging to find some of the ROK covers that I did design, and was lucky to locate one of the UN stamps. […]
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The death of former President Dwight D. Eisenhower (October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) has meant a surge of interest in Eisenhower related philatelic material. There is an active “American President’s Unit” of the American Topical Association ably handed by Mr. Lauren R. Junez of Plymouth, Michigan. In a recent bulletin of the President’s […]
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(This text was originally published in 1941 and republished in KP XI No. 1 (February 1962). It is here being published again for its historical significance.) Only scant remainders enable us today to retrace the origins of the Korean Postal and Communications System. We do know for a fact, however, that the country’s rulers have […]
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(Part 4 of 4) The 1951 provisional Korean stamps were issued with overprinted inflationary denominations of 100, 200, and 300 won on the basic stamps whose values range from 4 to 100 won. These overprinted stamps afford not only an exciting challenge to the casual collector, but also an excellent opportunity for specialization by the […]
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In 1946 while I was in Seoul I picked up a cover that I prize highly because of its unusualness. This cover was brought to me by one of the Korean examiners in the Censorship Office. His reason for showing it to me was that the cover was franked with stamps of both the North […]
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A variation of the old message-in-a-bottle that shipwrecked sailors toss to the outside world is a system devised by two American Merchant Marine Captains for sending passenger and crew mail ashore. “Via Pickle Bottle” is the rubber stamp used by Captain O.H. Martinson, master of the S.S. Mexico, and “Via Sea Jug Post” is the […]
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(Part 3 of 4) The 1951 provisional Korean stamps were issued with overprinted inflationary denominations of 100, 200, and 300 won on the basic stamps whose values range from 4 to 100 won. These overprinted stamps afford not only an exciting challenge to the casual collector, but also an excellent opportunity for specialization by the […]
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