This is a survey of the
postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...
s and
postal history
Postal history is the study of postal systems and how they operate and, or, the study of the use of postage stamps and covers and associated postal artifacts illustrating historical episodes in the development of postal systems. The term is att ...
of
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
. Before a strict isolationist country, Korea began to open up in the second half of the 19th century.
Following the
Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876
The Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876 (also known as the Japan-Korea Treaty of Amity in Japan and the Treaty of Ganghwa Island in Korea) was made between representatives of the Empire of Japan and the Korean Kingdom of Joseon in 1876.Chung, Young-l ...
, the
Empire of Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent fo ...
established the first post office in Japanese consulate district within the
open port
In security parlance, the term open port is used to mean a TCP or UDP port number that is configured to accept packets. In contrast, a port which rejects connections or ignores all packets directed at it is called a closed port.
Ports are an int ...
of
Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...
.
Hong Yeong-shik, a reformist official during the late
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, remonstrated that the Japanese government is operating postal services in Busan without consent. At the same time, Hong also had an interest in postal services and whilst visiting Japan and the United States as a diplomatic delegation, he chose to inspect local post offices and learn the workings of postal system. On April 22, 1884, the first Korean post office, ''Ujeongchongguk'' (우정총국), was set up in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
and Hong became the first Postmaster-General.
Prior to the beginning of postal services, Korea signed postal treaties with Japan and
British Hong Kong
Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the Briti ...
, and further intended to join
Universal Postal Union
The Universal Postal Union (UPU, french: link=no, Union postale universelle), established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874, is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to t ...
. Postal services in Korea officially began on November 18, 1884, when a service was established between Seoul and
Incheon
Incheon (; ; or Inch'ŏn; literally "kind river"), formerly Jemulpo or Chemulp'o (제물포) until the period after 1910, officially the Incheon Metropolitan City (인천광역시, 仁川廣域市), is a city located in northwestern South Kore ...
. After Korea was annexed by Japan in 1910, the Japanese government took over postal services and brought Japanese stamps for use in Korea.
Stamps of Joseon dynasty
Korea issued its own stamps on November 18, 1884 when the first postal service was created. 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 mun values were printed for the first time, but only the 5 and 10 mun stamps were issued. Theses stamps were printed by the Japanese
Paper Money Bureau of
Ministry of the Treasury
The (lit. the department of the great treasury) was a division of the eighth-century Japanese government of the Imperial Court in Kyoto, instituted in the Asuka period and formalized during the Heian period. The Ministry was replaced in the Meij ...
. Decoration of the background and empty space of these stamps include geometrical circle, lotus petal, bat, cloud, peony, lattice, flowering plant and arabesque design.
Nearly 3 million of these stamps were printed, but these saw little use as the post office was burned down during the
Gapsin Coup
The Gapsin Coup, also known as the Gapsin Revolution, was a failed three-day coup d'état that occurred in Korea during 1884. Korean reformers in the Enlightenment Party sought to initiate rapid changes within the country, including eliminating ...
in December 1884. In early 1886, unused stamps were granted to the Heinrich Constantin Eduard Meyer & Company, a German company based in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
, to make payment for the cost of printing stamps to Japan.
File:Korea 1884 stamp - 5 mun.jpg, 5 mun
File:Korea 1884 stamp - 10 mun.jpg, 10 mun
File:Korea 1884 stamp - 25 mun (unissued).jpg, 25 mun (unissued)
File:Korea 1884 stamp - 50 mun (unissued).jpg, 50 mun (unissued)
File:Korea 1884 stamp - 100 mun (unissued).jpg, 100 mun (unissued)
The next series of stamps did not appear until 1895 when the postal service was reintroduced. The stamps of the 1895 series consisted of four values: 5, 10, 25 and 50 poon. All these stamps were printed by the Andrew B. Graham Co., a company based in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, and featured a
taegeuk
''Taegeuk'' (, ) is a Korean term cognate with the Chinese term ''Taiji'' ( Wade-Giles spelling: ''T'ai-chi''), meaning "supreme ultimate", although it can also be translated as "great polarity / duality". The symbol was chosen for the design ...
symbol. They were
overprinted
An overprint is an additional layer of text or graphics added to the face of a postage or revenue stamp, postal stationery, banknote or ticket after it has been printed. Post offices most often use overprints for internal administrative purpos ...
"Dae Han" in 1897, in accordance with the proclamation of the
Korean Empire
The Korean Empire () was a Korean monarchical state proclaimed in October 1897 by Emperor Gojong of the Joseon dynasty. The empire stood until Japan's annexation of Korea in August 1910.
During the Korean Empire, Emperor Gojong oversaw the Gwa ...
, and
surcharged to 1 poon in 1900.
File:Korea 1885 stamp - 5 poon (bun).jpg, 5 poon
File:Korea 1885 stamp - 10 poon (bun).jpg, 10 poon
File:Korea 1885 stamp - 25 poon (bun).jpg, 25 poon
File:Korea 1885 stamp - 50 poon (bun).jpg, 50 poon
Stamps of Korean Empire
On January 1, 1900, Korea became a member of the
Universal Postal Union
The Universal Postal Union (UPU, french: link=no, Union postale universelle), established by the Treaty of Bern of 1874, is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to t ...
. It was also in 1900 that the Korean Empire introduced a series of 13 stamps, with values ranging from 2 re to 2 won. These stamps are the first stamps printed in Korea and known to collectors as the "Plum Blossom stamps" because all the designs have a common theme of the plum blossom and taegeuk symbol. The frames are different for each value, and the three highest values are printed in two colours each. At that time, the plum blossom was adopted as a royal emblem, but the plum blossom emblem was used widely not only for a symbol for royal families but also for a national symbol. In 1902 five of these stamps were surcharged using black handstamps.
File:Korea 1900 stamp - 2 ri.jpg, 2 re
File:Korea 1900 stamp - 2 chon (jeon).jpg, 2 chon
File:Korea 1900 stamp - 3 chon (jeon).jpg, 3 chon
File:Korea 1901 stamp - 1 won.jpg, 1 won
Korea issued its first and last
commemorative stamp
A commemorative stamp is a postage stamp, often issued on a significant date such as an anniversary, to honor or commemorate a place, event, person, or object. The ''subject'' of the commemorative stamp is usually spelled out in print, unlike def ...
on 18 October 1902, marking the 40th anniversary of the reign of
Emperor Gojong
Gojong (; 8 September 1852 – 21 January 1919) was the monarch of Korea from 1864 to 1907. He reigned as the last King of Joseon from 1864 to 1897, and as the first Emperor of Korea from 1897 until his forced abdication in 1907. He is known ...
. The orange stamp depicted the emperor's crown.
In 1903, Korea issued a set of 13 stamps depicting a
vulture
A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...
or
falcon
Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene.
Adult falcons ...
symbol. Issuing these stamps were promoted by Jean Victor Emile Clemencet, a French postal service advisor to the government of Korea, and they were printed in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
. When considering the bird emblem holding a globe and a sword, the design was possibly influenced by the
Russian ruble
''hum''; cv, тенкĕ ''tenke''; kv, шайт ''shayt''; Lak: къуруш ''k'urush''; Mari: теҥге ''tenge''; os, сом ''som''; tt-Cyrl, сум ''sum''; udm, манет ''manet''; sah, солкуобай ''solkuobay''
, name_ab ...
banknotes or Japan's 1875 stamp depicting
Northern goshawk
The northern goshawk (; ''Accipiter gentilis'') is a species of medium-large bird of prey, raptor in the Family (biology), family Accipitridae, a family which also includes other extant diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards and harrier (bird) ...
.
[Mok 2008: 45]
However, in 1910, Japan assumed administrative control of Korea, and subsequently all mail used Japanese Chosēn stamps. This state of affairs continued until early 1945 after liberation.
Stamps of Korea under Japanese rule
Before the annexation of Korea by Japan, some Japanese stamps were already used by Japanese post offices in Korea. From January 1, 1900 through April 28, 1900, Japanese stamps were overprinted with the ''
kanji
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...
'' for Korea (朝鮮, ''Chosen''). After Japan formally annexed Korea in 1910, the entire Korean postal services became a part of Japanese postal services, and Japanese stamps were used in Korea until the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
After the liberation of Korea, former Japanese stamps were temporarily overprinted "Joseon stamp" by the
United States Army Military Government in Korea
The United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) was the official ruling body of the Southern half of the Korean Peninsula from 8 September 1945 to 15 August 1948.
The country during this period was plagued with political and eco ...
. These overprinted stamps were in circulation in 1946. Soon the first stamps of liberated Korea were issued, commemorating the first anniversary of the independence.
File:Japanese stamp 3sen over printed Korea.JPG, Japanese 3 sen stamp overprinted for use in Korea, 1900
File:6sen stamp in 1944.JPG, Japanese 6 sen stamp, 1944
File:Korean overprint stamp of 20ch on Japanese 6sen stamp.JPG, Japanese 6 sen stamp overprinted for use in United States Army Military Government in Korea
The United States Army Military Government in Korea (USAMGIK) was the official ruling body of the Southern half of the Korean Peninsula from 8 September 1945 to 15 August 1948.
The country during this period was plagued with political and eco ...
, 1946
See also
*
Japanese post in Korea
*
Postage stamps and postal history of North Korea
Postage stamps are issued by the Korea Stamp Corporation. North Korea issues copious amounts of stamps. Since the 1970s, the country has outproduced South Korea in terms of issuance. The stamps tend to portray patriotic and nationalist themes an ...
*
Postage stamps and postal history of South Korea
This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of South Korea.
In 1945, Korea was liberated from Empire of Japan's colonial rule at the end of World War II, but soon divided into North and South Korea. South Korea began to issue its ow ...
Sources
*
*
*
References
{{PostalhistoryAsia
Philately of Korea