The Korean yen was the currency 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 ...

between 1910 and 1945. It was equivalent to the Japanese yen and consisted of Japanese currency and banknotes issued specifically for Korea. The yen was subdivided into 100 sen. It replaced the

Korean won The Korean won ( ko, 원 (圓), ) or Korean Empire won ( Korean: 대한제국 원), was the official currency of the Korean Empire between 1902 and 1910. It was subdivided into 100 ''jeon'' (; ko, 전 (錢), ). Etymology Won is a ...

at par and was replaced by the South Korean won and the

North Korean won The Korean People's won, sometimes known as the North Korean won (Symbol: ₩; Code: KPW; Korean: ) or Democratic People's Republic of Korea won ( Korean: ), is the official currency of North Korea. It is subdivided into 100 ''chon''. The cur ...

at par.

Banknotes

From 1902 to 1910, banknotes were issued by . Denominations included 10 sen, 20 sen, 50 sen, 1 yen, 5 yen, and 10 yen. The sen notes were vertical and resembled the Japanese sen notes of 1872 and the

Japanese military yen Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

at the turn of the century. These notes were redeemable in "Japanese Currency at any of its Branches in Korea". In 1909, the Bank of Korea (1909) (韓國銀行) was founded 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 of ...

as a central bank and began issuing currency of modern type. Following the establishment of the Bank of Korea, it would immediately begin to issue its own banknotes, these new banknotes were redeemable "in

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile me ...

or Nippon Ginko notes." Most of the reserves held by the Bank of Korea at the time were banknotes issued by the Bank of Japan and commercial paper. The banknotes issued by the Bank of Korea were only very slightly modified from the earlier Dai-Ichi Bank banknotes that had circulated in Korea, this was done to reduce any possible confusion during the transition period. The name of the Bank of Korea was inserted and the royal plum crest of Korea replaced Dai-Ichi Bank's 10-pointed star emblem, and the reverse sides of the 1 yen banknotes changed colour, but all the overall the changes were minute. Bank of Korea notes were dated 1909 and issued in 1910 and 1911. After Korea lost sovereignty to Japan in 1910, the Bank of Korea was renamed the Bank of Chosen (朝鮮銀行, Korean: Joseon Eunhaeng, Japanese: Chōsen Ginkō). The first Bank of Chosen note was dated 1911 and issued in 1914. 1 yen, 5 yen, 10 yen, and 100 yen were issued regularly, while there were occasionally some sen notes (5, 10, 20, 50 sen). 1000 yen was printed but never issued at 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 opposing ...

. The earlier issues were redeemable "in Gold or Nippon Ginko Note". A similar phrase was written in Japanese language, Japanese on later issues.

Sen

1916

1919

1937

Yen

1911

1932

1938

1944

1945

References

* * {{Portal bar, Money, Numismatics Korea under Japanese rule Modern obsolete currencies