Supporting Philatelists Since 1952
There is an irony in the fact that the reprint of, arguably, the rarest of all North Korean stamps, the 1948 Labor Law issue, SG N11, is among the most common of these often despised reprints, both in perforated and imperforated condition. It is also among the small number of such reprints of which postally […]
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Sun Tzu was a Chinese general, military strategist, writer, and philosopher who lived in the Eastern Zhou period of ancient China. Sun Tzu is traditionally credited as the author of The Art of War, a widely influential work of military strategy that has affected both Western and East Asian philosophy and military thinking. Aside from […]
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Stamps with different colors were used to indicate different denominations until multicolored stamps appeared along with the development of color printing techniques. The majority of modern stamps are still of a single color design. In the early days of printing stamps, inks were made up in batches as needed and the colors were inconsistent. In […]
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In September 2018 KSS member Yi Yong Suk asked a question regarding his set of 1959 “Peaceful Reunification of Korea” stamps (Scott 175a / A141; KSC 151). One of our members, Kevin Mackeown, sent one cancelled example showing the imperforated stamps were real and then sent more examples used on cover. Now KSS member Florian […]
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The North Korean Government performed a drastic monetary devaluation on July 1, 2002, having dramatic influence on both domestic and international postal rates. However, how major the changes were and when they became effective were not known until several months after the changes. The purpose of this article is to convey the information obtained from […]
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In September 2018 KSS member Yi Yong Suk asked a question regarding his set of 1959 “Peaceful Reunification of Korea” stamps (Scott 175a / A141; KSC 151). He himself was wondering whether these stamps were real. A good way of establishing this is to see if the (exact same version of such) stamps are known […]
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Previously I have written an article on North Korea’s “Remarkable Tourist Market Sheet” stamps. KSS member Mr. Chen Yi-Fu stated that the article referred to so-called “stamps for domestic use”. In the Korean Stamp Catalogue, the 2 stamps are No. 3758 & 3760, issued in 8×3 small sheets for international collectors. He also mentioned that […]
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The 3rd Asian Winter Games brought trouble twice to North Korean stamps. This started when the author noticed one stamp that had been recorded in the second edition of the North Korean Stamp Catalogue but has subsequently been deleted completely from the new, third edition published last year.
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Recently KSS members Yi Yong Suk and Chen Yi-Fu showed the difference between domestic printings versus international (collector’s) printings by showing Scott No. 2824 & 2824a side by side. But then Yi-Fu also said something about more modern domestic printings.
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The publication by KSS member Yi Yong Suk of an article about North Korean stamp sheets elicited an answer by another KSS member, Chen Yi-Fu. This led to the following exchange of information between these two members about the question of domestic printings versus international (collector’s) printings.
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(News from 조선우표사 / Korea Stamp Corporation) On 18 October 2018 the 조선우표사 / Korea Stamp Corporation issued a stamp commemorating the fourth round of the north-south summit meeting. The release came with this text: “Stamps were issued to commemorate the fifth round of north-south summit meeting and talks held in Pyongyang between September 18 […]
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(News from 조선우표사 / Korea Stamp Corporation) On 18 October 2018 the 조선우표사 / Korea Stamp Corporation issued a stamp commemorating the fourth round of the north-south summit meeting. The release came with this text: “The fourth round of north-south summit meeting and talks took place at the Thongil House in the northern area of […]
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(News from 조선우표사 / Korea Stamp Corporation) On 16 October 2018 the 조선우표사 / Korea Stamp Corporation issued a stamp sheet commemorating the third round of north-south summit meeting. The release came with this text: “The third round of north-south summit meeting and talks took place at the House of Peace in the southern area […]
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(News from 조선우표사 / Korea Stamp Corporation) On 15 October 2018 the 조선우표사 / Korea Stamp Corporation issued four stamps commemorating famous Korean personalities. These are Yang Man Chun, Choe Mu Son, Nam Ee and Paek Son Haeng.
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[David Hall’s undergraduate thesis “North Korean National Identity, Expressed Through Postage Stamps, 1948-1970” is published in full on the KSS website. This part contains the Conclusion, several other parts such as abbreviations, and the Bibliography.]
Continue Reading [David Hall’s undergraduate thesis “North Korean National Identity, Expressed Through Postage Stamps, 1948-1970” is published in full on the KSS website. This is “Chapter Three – North Korea and the Changing Nature of East Asia, 1963-1970”.] Due to North Korea’s successful economic recovery and Kim Il-sung’s consolidation of power through Juche and purges, North Korea became […]
Continue Reading [David Hall’s undergraduate thesis “North Korean National Identity, Expressed Through Postage Stamps, 1948-1970” is published in full on the KSS website. This is “Chapter Two – Reconstruction, Consolidation, and Juche Ideology, 1954-1962”.] Damage brought by the Korean war exceeded 420 billion won and thousands of factories, homes, and social infrastructures were destroyed.49 Therefore, Kim Il-sung used […]
Continue Reading [David Hall’s undergraduate thesis “North Korean National Identity, Expressed Through Postage Stamps, 1948-1970” is published in full on the KSS website. This is “Chapter One – State Building, Nationalism, and War, 1948-1953”.] The North Korean state was established 9 September 1948, two years after liberation from Japanese rule and subsequent Soviet administration. From its immediate establishment, […]
Continue Reading [David Hall’s undergraduate thesis “North Korean National Identity, Expressed Through Postage Stamps, 1948-1970” is published in full on the KSS website. This part contains both the “Abstract” and the “Introduction”.]
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From 2000 to 2006 I visited North Korea 15 times, each time during 4 weeks. During those 4 weeks, I spent weekends and rainy days in the hotel (Mt. Myohyang or Chong Chon Hotel). Also, on my departure from the country, I spent 3 to 4 days in the capital Pyongyang (Yang Gak Do Hotel) […]
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