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ETYMOLOGY See Also: Etymology of the Korean Currencies Won (pronounced like the past tense of the : ''jeon''). HISTORY The won became the currency of North Korea in 1945 , replacing the Korean Yen . It was revalued at a rate of one hundred to one in 1959 . For the earlier Korean won, see Korean Won . COINS Coin s in circulation are The Central Bank issues a separate currency (or foreign exchange certificates) for visitors, like many other Communist State s. However, North Korea makes 2 varieties of foreign exchange certificates, one for visitors from "socialist countries", and the other for visitors from "capitalist countries". Coins with 1 star are for socialist visitors, and coins 2 with 2 stars are for capitalist visitors. BANKNOTES As explained above, there are two varieties of foreign certificates. For the 1978 banknote series, foreign certificates were implemented by overstamp and serial number color: In 1988, the Bank of Trade (무역은행) (as opposed to the Central Bank) issued 2 unique series of foreign certificates. They both included 1 chŏn, 5 chŏn, 10 chŏn, 50 chŏn, ₩1, ₩5, ₩10, and ₩50. The series for capitalists was blue-green, while the series for socialists was pink. The chŏn notes had a simple design of patterns and the values, while the socialist won notes depict the International Friendship Exhibition , and the capitalist won notes depict the Chollima statue. Banknote s in circulation are Unusually, the 100, 1,000 and 5,000 won bills are of essentially the same basic design, portraying the exact same subjects (although they are colored differently). North Korea has in the past issued whole series of foreign exchange certificate in which the designs are exactly the same, right down to color, only the denomination being different. Since 2001 , the North Korean government has abandoned the meaningless rate of 2.16 won to the dollar (which is said to have been based upon Kim Jong-il's birthday, February 16) and banks in the country now issue at rates closer to the black market rate. However, rampant inflation has been eroding the North Korean won's value to such an extent that currently it is believed to be worth about the same as the South Korean Won . In any case, the U.S. dollar and other currencies are still worth more in North Korean won on the black market than officially. This is also apparent when one examines the dates of issue or "series" of the different denominations of banknotes (see above). SEE ALSO
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