Supporting Philatelists Since 1952
All kinds of examples of ROK military 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 […]
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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 […]
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This Dutch “Briefkaart” postal card bears a 5 cent Queen Juliana franking and a green marking reading “PORTVRIJ militairen op weg naar Korea”: “Postage free: servicemen on their way to Korea.” This concessionary marking is the principal postal-history feature of the item, identifying it as mail connected with Dutch military personnel travelling to Korea.
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This article, written by Kim Seong-cheol (김성철, 金成哲) of the Korea Collectors Club (한국수집가클럽), was published in the April 2024 issue of Woopyo Magazine. It examines the establishment, operation, and eventual closure of Japanese field post offices and the use of postal marks during the First Sino-Japanese War (청일전쟁, 淸日戰爭). Drawing on both Japanese military […]
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The pages presented here showcase a collection of postmarks from Japanese field offices in Korea during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. This period marked a significant chapter in both Japanese and Korean history.
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The following is an expansion of two articles which were recently published in the American Philatelist and The London Philatelist. Rather than simply republishing them, they are combined and expanded here to tell a more detailed story. Mail to and from the largest POW components (excluding South Koreans) – American and British – are detailed […]
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In line with agreements regarding the planned post-WW2 dismantling of the Japanese Empire reached by the allies at the Yalta Conference in February 1945, Japan would be forced to relinquish control of all the territories it had conquered during the war or annexed prior to the outbreak of hostilities (including Korea). Korea would be divided […]
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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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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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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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Affording missionary organisations the facility of using APO numbers was something that began with the US occupation of South Korea after WW2. The USA Military Government in Korea started its own parallel Army Post Office organisation on landing in September 1945. Approved missionary organisations, together with commercial suppliers to the military (usually Korean subsidiaries of […]
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For anyone studying Korean postage stamps and postal stationery, understanding the structure of the Korean language and the Korean alphabet will enrich the understanding of any material which you have. The Korean language is highly structured and regular. Some sixty percent of its vocabulary derives from written Chinese (called in Korean Hanja 漢字).
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The Dutch detachment was operational between between 1950 and 1954. It was operating under the flag of the United Nations and were under command of the United States of America. The soldiers could send there mail postage free via the American Army Post. On Arrival by airmail at Schiphol Airport Amsterdam alle cards and letters […]
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This article is the second part of an online article on Kenneth Clark’s exhibit on the postal history of the Russo-Japanese War. The pages contained herein are limited to those that are related to Korea. For more information see the first part.
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(Translated by Le Tuyet Mai.) The envelope shown in Figure 1 was sent from the office of Korean Advisory Commander-Assistant to Lieutenant-Colonel, belonging to MC Advisory Team (KMAG-V Korean Military Advisory Group-Vietnam), belonging to APO 91 US Forces (Division: Foot-band no. 91- US Army) in Vietnam. The letter was postmarked Pungsan (Korea), 17-11-1955. Perhaps, this […]
Continue Reading The exhibit shows the postal history of the Forerunners from the Sino-Japanese War, occupation of Korea, China, Manchuria, and Formosa, the Boxer Uprising in China, then the Russo-Japanese War and the Field Post Office (FPO) system, with mail being transported back to Japan by ship and to Russia by the Trans-Siberian railway. The International world […]
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In 2000 the KSS published a monograph, the third in the series of KSS monographs, titled “The Postal History of the Korean War 1950-1953”. Written by Robert W. Collins, this monograph is no longer readily available. As a service to KSS members a scanned version of this document is available online. Some examples and texts […]
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(Originally from KP August, 2012—Vol. 54, No. 3) For an in-country Korean military mail cover to be fully complete, it should essentially have three chops or strikes that say four things:1) it is military mail, 2) it has the military unit number, 3) it has gone thru security, and 4) there should be a round […]
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This article is the fifth part of the award winning exhibit, begun in KP 51:3, pages 18-26; KP 51:4, pages 13-19; KP 53:1, pages 5-12; and KP 53:2, pages 11-18.
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