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5 Won
| Issuer | Bank of Joseon |
|---|---|
| Year | 1949 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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| Obverse description | The face is printed in dark purple on a pink guilloche underprint. At center-right, a circular vignette presents the Independence Gate (Dongnimmun) in Seoul, erected in 1897. To the left, a large numeral '5' is set within an ornate scalloped frame, with the Chinese characters 五圓 (Five Won) to its right and a red circular bank seal below. The upper border carries the bank title in Chinese characters within a rectangular cartouche, flanked by corner ornaments bearing the digit '5'. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse lettering | 券行銀鮮朝 5 五 (Translation: Joseon banknote, Five) |
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| Comments |
The Bank of Joseon — the central bank originally established under Japanese colonial administration in 1909 — continued operating after liberation in August 1945, issuing notes under its existing institutional name while Korea's postwar political status remained unresolved. This 5 Won belongs to a series printed in April 1945, before the surrender, but held and released under the U.S. Military Government as emergency currency after the peninsula's division along the 38th parallel.
The gap between printing date and catalog year reflects the chaotic transition period directly. Notes from this series circulated alongside Japanese yen and earlier colonial issues well into 1946.