2018-07-03 Tue

The major change Korea underwent in modern history coincides with the development of its postal services and stamps. When Korea opened up to the West in 1882, its first attempt at catching up to the industrialized Western world included establishing a postal service.

The Koreans tried to independently establish the Korean Postal Bureau in April 1884. Korean postage stamps were first issued in 1884. Prior to this first stamp issue, Chinese and Japanese stamps were used in Korea.

On 18th November the Joseon dynasty issued its own first stamps. Five values were printed - 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 mon. However, only the 5m and 10m values were issued. Even these stamps saw very little use as the post office was burned down during a revolt in December 1884.

This particular stamp is a beautiful blue stamp with a traditional Korean symbol in the centre surrounded by Korean letters. The stamp features a very intricate floral design with “Corean” written at the top and the denomination 19 Mn is written at the bottom.

Image Curtsey: https://en.wikipedia.org