KSS Korea Philately Editor, Author at Korea Stamp Society

Too early use of KPSC R2 (Scott 56) on card?

February 24, 2021May 17, 2021 KSS Korea Philately Editor5583 Comments

Sometimes something comes up by accident which may be too good to be true. Or not, of course. One such item is this quite attractive card. It is a Japanese produced postal card of 5 sen which was used in South Korea as a card worth 5 jeon, uprated with another stamp for 5 jeon, […]

Interesting items in Soler y Llach and Gärtner auctions

January 27, 2021January 23, 2021 KSS Korea Philately Editor565Leave a Comment

Several interesting items are shown in current auctions run by Soler y Llach and Gärtner. These items are a cover (Soler y Llach) and postcards (Gärtner) with stamps from the classical period of Korean philatelic history, in this case covers sent between 1897 and 1904.

Reader’s Question: How to order from KoreaPost and what about all these new DPRK stamps?

January 16, 2021December 8, 2020 KSS Korea Philately Editor73611 Comments

We received a message from one of our readers, Peter, who has two questions. One is on the KoreaPost international stamp sales website and the inability to actually order something through that website, a point raised quite often by both KSS members and visitors of the KSS website. The other question is on North Korean […]

Classic Korea stamps and covers with Holcombe certificates (Rapp auction)

January 9, 2021April 21, 2021 KSS Korea Philately Editor471Leave a Comment

We are always on the look out for interesting Korean philatelic materials showing up in auctions. One noticeable item showing up in a Rapp auction (“Rapp Auktion Nr. 39 und Nr. 40 von 23. bis 28. November 2020“) is item nr. 2826. This item is listed in both German and English. The Korean items shown […]

Examples of Korean War era Dutch soldiers’ cards in Dutch auction

December 11, 2020December 10, 2020 KSS Korea Philately Editor5591 Comment

The Dutch mail auction ‘Sheraton & Peel’ by René Hillesum Filatelie (since 1991) offers a selection of Dutch (and Colonies) and international philatelic materials. The upcoming auction of December 23 is offering several postal history items of interest to Korea collectors.

New KSS Member Wishes to Trade for Used North Korean Stamps

December 5, 2020November 23, 2020 KSS Korea Philately Editor754Leave a Comment

My name is Paul Scholtens and I live in Canberra, the capital city of Australia. During the Covid-19 pandemic I have been doing a lot of work on my collection. I am a 74 years old, social and general interest collector who collects stamps from all over the world. I like the information you can […]

The original Korean album pages

November 14, 2020March 5, 2021 KSS Korea Philately Editor9942 Comments

In the last few issues of KP and on the KSS website we have shown examples of album pages made and/or used by KSS members. Here we show the original KSS album pages, the pages as produced and for years marketed in Korean Philately by our long-time member David Phillips.

Reader’s Question: El Salvador vs El Salvadol sheet catalog prices

October 31, 2020October 24, 2020 KSS Korea Philately Editor9416 Comments

(Editor: a question from reader Y.W.:) Hi , I am a little confused about the catalog value of the 2 printings of the above mentioned s/s. First printing, misspelled the country as El Salvadol, the second printing has the corrected country name as El Salvador. Scott listed the first printing has a higher catalog value […]

Reader’s Question: Was their a Russian influence on the 1903 Falcon stamps’ design?

July 20, 2020February 21, 2021 KSS Korea Philately Editor1620Leave a Comment

(Editor: a question from reader Jim, currently living in South Korea:) “I’m interested in any information about how the 1903 Postes Imperiales Coree stamp came to be designed and authorized for issue, especially in that it seems that this stamp had Russian influence just prior to the Russo-Japanese War as Russia’s involvement in Korea was […]

Incheon local revenue stamps

June 27, 2020May 17, 2020 Matt Parkkinen7431 Comment

I made a state-side trip in September, to Seattle, and since my return have been too busy and also have not had an opportunity to add much in the way of information on Korean revenues, until just the other day. A few days ago I was in Pusan, and obtained some of the Inchon City […]

The story of the independent independence activists

June 17, 2020June 17, 2020 KSS Korea Philately Editor693Leave a Comment

Notice something about the sheet for stamps KPC3331-3334? Look again. And then again. It’s really there. Yep, it’s a typo. Look at the first English sentence: “indepence”. Very understandable typo, can happen to anybody. So I emailed the philatelic agency and told them about the error. They emailed back after a couple of days, telling […]

Reader’s Question: Name of designer of 1984 cosmonaut stamp?

June 17, 2020June 12, 2020 KSS Korea Philately Editor11386 Comments

(Editor: a question from reader Petr from the Czech Republic:) Do you know who is the stamp designer of the North Korean stamp 1984 year Scott Nr 2429-2431, Michel 2522-2524? The stamp with Tereskhova is important for me, that is with a value of 10. In my exhibit about Tereskhova, I have two original artworks […]

Reader’s Question: What are these items?

May 14, 2020May 12, 2020 KSS Korea Philately Editor9063 Comments

One of our members showed a series of pictures with all sorts of items. The question is: what are these items? Do you recognize them? Then please leave your ideas in the comments below the items. You can refer to them by the number given with the figures.

2018 Winter Olympics PyeongChang: two years ago

May 13, 2020March 6, 2020 KSS Korea Philately Editor7643 Comments

Held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, the 2018 Winter Olympics were a triumph for (South) Korea in two ways. Not only did it show a very modern and well-organized Korea, an image completely different from just one generation ago when Korea was still one of the poorest countries in the world, […]

The Pusan 8-Bar Cancels (1982)

April 29, 2020April 30, 2020 Robert Smith7821 Comment

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.

Paquebot mail from Dutch frigate during the Korean War

April 18, 2020March 20, 2020 Hans Kremer821Leave a Comment

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 […]

KSC5243-5244: 108th Birth Anniversary of President Kim Il Sung

April 15, 2020April 20, 2020 KSS Korea Philately Editor978Leave a Comment

(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.”

KSC5242: Mangyongdae Prize International Marathon

April 12, 2020March 20, 2020 KSS Korea Philately Editor9321 Comment

(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.

Selling stamps the K-pop way!

March 25, 2020February 9, 2020 KSS Korea Philately Editor845Leave a Comment

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.

Mr. Zip comes to Korea

March 16, 2020January 4, 2020 Glenn Goodrich816Leave a Comment

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 […]