Supporting Philatelists Since 1952
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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Originated in Denmark, Christmas seals have become a universal symbol of the fight against tuberculosis. A story that includes an important chapter by Dr. Sherwood Hall, ‘19, and his wife, Dr. Marian Hall, the former Marian Bottomley, ’22. Going to Korea as medical missionaries in 1926, they established that country’s first tuberculosis sanatorium, for which […]
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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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Shown here is a military post card used in 1952. The card is a commemorative card, printed to commemorate “Samil Day”. The following extract about Samiljeol is from a 1943 booklet authored by New Ilhan entitled Korea and the Pacific War which was based on a report he prepared for the Office of Strategic Services […]
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Two post cards, part of a set commemorating the ROK 1955 Expo. These two post cards were made by the Huimangsa 希望社 · 製 for the industrial exhibition commemorating the tenth anniversary of liberation 解放十週年產業博覽會記念. This refers to August 15, 1945, commemorated in both the ROK and DPRK as the date Korea was liberated from […]
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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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A 2-sided sheet containing Dr. Sherwood Hall’s Korean Tuberculosis/Christmas and New Seals from 1932-1940 caught my eye on eBay recently; it was offered by a dealer in the UK. It was produced by the Tatham Stamp and Coin Company of Springfield, Massachusetts in the USA and it is a set of seals “on approval”. When […]
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In an earlier article on 17 August 2019 posted on the Korea Stamp Society’s website, we wrote about the Methodist’s 50th anniversary in Korea. Dr. Sherwood Hall, the creator of Korea’s first Tuberculosis/Christmas and New Year’s seal in 1932 also designed this seal. A number of examples of these seals used on mailings from Korea […]
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Towards the end of the Korean War the issue of when and where to repatriate prisoners of war was a major problem. One year after the release in January 1954 from prisoner-of-war camps of Chinese troops in South Korea, Taiwan (or the “Republic of China”/ROC) issued a series of special stamps. The 1955 official Taiwan […]
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Eventually we will publish a full description of the Dr. Sherwood Hall’s known Tuberculosis/Christmas and New Year envelopes and letters stationery. This article gives a brief introduction of a set of stationery used personally by Dr. Sherwood Hall when thanking a friend in Fayetteville, Arkansas for some stamps and covers that were sent to Dr. […]
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The use of Christmas Seals in Korea began with the work of the Methodist medical missionaries Dr. Sherwood Hall (Korean name Ha Rak 賀樂, 1893-1991) and his wife Dr. Marian Bottomley Hall (1896-1991) who were based in the city of Haeju (海州) in South Hwanghae Province (黃海道), now in North Korea.
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Along with Dr. Sherwood Hall’s TB/Christmas and New Year seal program, which began in 1932, to raise money for fighting tuberculosis in Korea, a number of items related to the design of the seals where promoted and sold to the public to raise additional funds. As we have seen in earlier articles published on the […]
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Our past Chairman and Publisher of the Korea Stamp Society (KSS), Ivo Spanjersberg, has long urged that he and I write an article about the Korean Relief Inc. organization and its related Korean philatelic items. Various items of postal history, including postal stationery, aerogrammes, Christmas seals and labels, and other related merchandize, are frequently seen […]
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A member from the Netherlands philatelic group, the ZWP Study Circle, Han Dijkstra, helped me and Ivo Spanjersberg write an article about the postal history of New Guinea and detailed information about the postal issues of the United Nations “UNTEA” forces during the turnover of West New Guinea to Indonesia in the early 1960’s.
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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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Belgium, together with Luxembourg, sent a UN-contingent to Korea in 1951. This contingent, the Belgian United Nations Command (BUNC), consisted exclusively of volunteer soldiers: 3.171 Belgians and 78 Luxembourgers.
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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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(Part 3 of 3) When Dr. Hall was forced to leave Korea in 1941, he went to India where he continued his missionary work and started to build a TB seal program as he had done in Korea. And, like in Korea, he was successful in building a TB seal program in India. Indian TB […]
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(Part 2 of 3) When Dr. Hall was forced to leave Korea in 1941, he went to India where he continued his missionary work and started to build a TB seal program as he had done in Korea. And, like in Korea, he was successful in building a TB seal program in India. Indian TB […]
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This author has been very fortunate to have discovered a new cover with Dr. Sherwood Hall’s Korea 1940 unissued Tuberculosis/Christmas and New Year Seal. It had been listed on eBay and I was very lucky to obtain it by auction. The last update on this 1940 Korea seal was discussed in the article on the […]
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