100 Hwan

The 100 Hwan was introduced as South Korea struggled to stabilize an economy shattered by the Korean War. The hwan itself had replaced the won in 1953 at a rate of 100:1 — a blunt acknowledgment of wartime inflation that had rendered the old currency nearly worthless. By 1957 the hwan was already under pressure again, and this denomination was among the higher-value notes in everyday circulation during a period of acute scarcity.

Domestic production by the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation reflected a deliberate push toward self-sufficient note manufacture rather than continued reliance on foreign printers. The hwan series would survive only until 1962, when a military government redenominated back to the won at 10:1.