Missionary Correspondence from Kwangju, 1926
This cover is from M L Swinehart a missionary in Kwangju to an address in Virginia, USA dated to 1926.
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Category: Philatelic History
Philatelic history of Korea
The Number of Chollimas on Stamps Grows and Grows!
As a relatively new member of the Korea Stamp Society (KSS), I was attracted by the many articles about the images of Chollimas on stamps, especially of those of North Korea (DPRK) on the KSS website. The first article I noticed was posted on the KSS website on June 24, 2020. I made the comment […]
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Continuation of the Article on the South Korea Early Postcards of 1946 through 1953
An article on the basic introduction of the use of Japanese postcards through 1946 by South Korea, ended with the issuance of the South Korea’s first own design of a postcard with the unissued 1946 “Liberation” postcard , Korean Postage Stamp Catalogue (KPSC) UPC1; and with that postcard’s first surcharge of May 1, 1947, KPSC […]
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A Basic Introduction to the post-WWII Liberation use of Japanese Postcards in South Korea, 1946-47
Most collectors of South Korean stamps are familiar with the 1946 set of Japanese stamps overprinted for use in US-occupied South Korea and revalued in Korean currency, i.e. cheon. These are listed in the Korean Postage Stamp Catalogue (KPSC) as numbers R1-R6 and in Scott as numbers 55-60. They were issued some months after the […]
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How to determine the cost of sending a telegram in a society with two different character sets?
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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The Imperfs, Double Printings and Two-Sided Printings of Korea 1946-1953 Stamps
From the first printed stamps in South Korea in 1946 after the WWII, up to around 1953, many of those issues can be found printed as imperforated stamps, double printed stamps and stamps printed on both sides. The stamps were issued by the US Military from 1946-1948. On August 15, 1948, the South Korean government […]
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April 1946 postwar usages of Postage Fee Paid forms with Japanese Showa and USAMGIK surcharges
In 1919 the Japanese introduced “Postage Fee Paid” forms. These forms were used to pay for various kinds of mail matter in bulk. The official Japanese postal term was 郵便料金受領証原符 = Postage fee reception original form and is imprinted on top. The actual mail items received a circular bisected handstamp in characters “(post office name)/postage […]
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The Korea 1900 Plum Blossom Essays Revisited
The topic of the Plum Blossom Essay was last seen on the Korea Stamp Society webpage back on August 7, 2019 in an article by Gary McLean.
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South Korea’s 1966 Unusual S/S for the 6th Postal Week — Revisited
Back in 2018 a short article was published that described South Korea’s unusual souvenir sheet (S/S) that was issued in 1966 for commemorating the 6th Postal Week. What is unusual about this S/S is that it was only issued with a red overprint. There was not a single stamp issued to accompany it. The S/S […]
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A Postcard used in 1945, the last year of Japanese occupation of Korea
Forward Note by Bob Finder: The following article by one of our members of the Korea Stamp Society (KSS) shows one of the key values of being a member of the KSS; that value is the gaining of new information about Korean philately from other members. With the collaboration of six different members of the […]
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A Post Card from Korea: A Poignant Relic from Colonial Korea
(A recent listing of a postcard on Ebay led to a series of emails amongst active KSS members. James Grayson, who lived for several decades in Korea and knows a lot about the history of churches in Korea, created this text, together with Florian Eichhorn, in answer to the questions raised.) This post card forms […]
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Commemorating a Martyred Priest
On 20 August, 2021, Korea Post celebrated the two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of Kim Taegŏn (金大建, 1821-1846), the first Korean Roman Catholic priest, and a martyr. He was a member of a yangban or aristocratic family who had converted secretly to Catholicism, which was banned and persecuted in Korea until the end of the […]
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Gwendoline Post Office and it’s Unique Blue Cancellation
Gwendoline (은산-殷山) Post office was a simple postal branch which handled only postal matters of reception. Following are a few points regarding the office:
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Foreign Advocates for Korean Independence
Korea Post will issue two stamps on 12 August, 2022 in what appears to be a new series called ‘Foreign Advocates of Korean Independence’. The date of issue is close to ‘Liberation Day’ (해방의 날, Haebang-ŭi nal), 15 August, the date in 1945 when Japan surrendered, thus both ending the Second World War and her […]
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Four Historic Churches
On 14 April, 2022, Korea Post issued a set of 8 stamps as part of its series Han’gug-ŭi yet kŏnch’uk (한국의 옛 건축, Korean Historic Architecture). There were also two sheets issued and a special cancellation. Four churches are commemorated – two Roman Catholic and two Anglican. Shown on the stamps of the churches are […]
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Finding those elusive Korean stamps you need for your collection
When the new KSS website was launched, I wrote an article about a number of Korean stamps I had been searching fo, that I was never able to find. There is an article titled “Do these Korean stamps actually exist?” that was published on November 30, 2018.
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The 1950 postal stationery inflationary surcharge on stamps?
Occasionally South Korean stamps show up on popular (stamp) auction websites with a 10 won overprint on them. But are these overprints real? According to John Sauer in his Monograph 1, Specialized Postal Stationery Catalog of the Republic of Korea, page 7, postal card KPC #PC15 was created with a 10 won surcharge on the […]
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DPRK 1976 “Winners, 21st Olympic Games, Montreal” Sheet Sizes and Other Differences
In 1976, the DPRK released several souvenir sheets that differ (within the same catalog number) from each other. Differences in size, perforation, presence of glue, etc. can be found. The information in catalogs is somewhat different. The most notable example would be the Souvenir Sheet for release: Winners, 21st Olympic Games, Montreal.
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Obtaining one more 1905 Postal Envelope of the Missionary Mr. H. G. Underwood!
This year I was lucky enough to have bid on an auction and won this 1905 postal envelope of Missionary Horace Grant Underwood. The sender’s address is “FROM: H. G. UNDERWOOD,SEOUL, KOREA.”, receiver address is typed as “Tiffin Stamp Co, 160 N St. Tiffin Ohio, USA”. The envelope was franked with a 10 cent Eagle […]
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The Korea Stamp Museum in Pyongyang in 2012-2013
The Stamp Museum of Pyongyang is housed in a specially built three-floor building next to the well-known Koryo Hotel in downtown Pyongyang. The front of the building is designed in the shape of a stamp. In front of the building stands a bronze statue of a dove holding a postcard while flying around the earth […]
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