The Korea Stamp Museum ( ko, 조선우표박물관) is a

postal museum A postal museum is a museum dedicated to the display of objects relating to the postal service. A subcategory of postal museums are philatelic museums, which focus on philately and postage stamps. List of postal and philatelic museums Afric ...

in the Central District of

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu River, Y ...

History

The Korea Stamp Museum opened on April 9, 2012 as part of the centennial celebration of the birth of

Kim Il-sung Kim Il-sung (; , ; born Kim Song-ju, ; 15 April 1912 – 8 July 1994) was a North Korean politician and the founder of North Korea, which he ruled from the country's establishment in 1948 until his death in 1994. He held the posts of ...

after being upgraded to a museum from an exhibition hall for the

Korea Stamp Corporation The Korea Stamp Corporation ( ko, 조선우표사) is the issuing authority of postage stamps in North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern h ...

. The museum closed for renovations in 2018 as part of an expansion project and reopened on February 11, 2019.

Description

Located in between the

Koryo Hotel The Koryo Hotel is the second largest operating hotel in North Korea, the largest being the Yanggakdo Hotel. The Ryugyong Hotel is larger than both, but is not yet operating. The twin-towered Koryo Hotel building is 143 metres (469 ft) ...

and Pyongyang station, the Korea Stamp Museum is situated in a three floor building with awards from

philatelic exhibition A philatelic exhibition is an exhibition of Philately, stamps and postal history where stamp collectors (philatelists) compete for medals. The displays are shown in glass frames, and the exhibition is normally accompanied by stamp dealer Exchange ...

s housed in the ground level, a souvenir shop on the second floor, and an exhibition hall on the third floor. The exterior of the museum after its renovation was built to resemble a postage stamp and has a bronze statue of a dove holding a postcard while flying above the Earth located outside the building. The museum functions more as a shop than a museum to attract international tourists and

philatelists Philately (; ) is the study of postage stamps and postal history. It also refers to the collection and appreciation of stamps and other philatelic products. Philately involves more than just stamp collecting or the study of postage; it is possi ...

despite the limitations of

international sanctions International sanctions are political and economic decisions that are part of diplomatic efforts by countries, multilateral or regional organizations against states or organizations either to protect national security interests, or to protect in ...

Collection

The Korea Stamp Museum houses over 6,000 stamps, envelopes, and postcards. In this collection, the museum contains relics from the ancient times and artifacts from the

postal system The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal syst ...

established at the end of the

Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...

dynasty, as well as relics since the establishment of the North Korean Postal Service including the first stamps created by the service. The museum also houses an album of stamps collected by

Kim Jong-il Kim Jong-il (; ; ; born Yuri Irsenovich Kim;, 16 February 1941 – 17 December 2011) was a North Korean politician who was the second supreme leader of North Korea from 1994 to 2011. He led North Korea from the 1994 death of his father Kim ...

. The stamps displayed highlight events in the country's history, flora and fauna, and world events including the launch of ''

Sputnik Sputnik 1 (; see § Etymology) was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for t ...

'', the birth of

Prince William William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educat ...

, and the

2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit The 2018 North Korea–United States Singapore Summit, commonly known as the Singapore Summit, was a summit meeting between North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump, held at the Capella Hotel, Sentosa, Singapore, on ...

In popular culture

The museum appeared on the ninth episode of '' The Amazing Race Vietnam 2019'' as the site of a task where the competing teams had to search for a commemorative stamp of

Kim Jong-un Kim Jong-un (; , ; born 8 January 1982) is a North Korean politician who has been Supreme Leader of North Korea since 2011 and the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) since 2012. He is a son of Kim Jong-il, who was North Korea's sec ...

's goodwill visit to Vietnam in 2019.

References

{{Tourist attractions in Pyongyang Museums in Pyongyang Postal museums Philately of Korea 2012 establishments in North Korea

History

Description

Collection

In popular culture

See also

References