1.000 Yen

The Bank of Chosen — Japan's colonial central bank in Korea — issued this note in the final months of the Pacific War, when the broader Japanese financial system was under severe strain. By 1945, hyperinflationary pressure and acute material shortages had already compromised note quality across Japanese-controlled territories; Chosen notes of this period were printed under wartime production constraints that affected paper consistency and ink application.

After Japan's surrender in August 1945, the bank briefly continued operations under U.S. and Soviet occupation administrations on either side of the 38th parallel. Notes already in circulation were not immediately withdrawn, creating a chaotic interregnum during which the 1,000 Yen denomination — a very high face value — passed through both zones before formal currency reorganization.

The Soviet-administered north subsequently issued its own currency, rendering Chosen Bank notes worthless there by late 1947.