Currency of North Korea

Currency of North Korea is ‘won’ which is divisible to 100 chon. Currency code of this currency is KPW. Same currency unit is also in use in South Korea. Like other countries of world, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is responsible for issuing and controlling the currency flow. Won was given the official title of currency of North Korea in 1947. Before this era, this region used yen as their official unit of exchange. Coins of won are circulated with denominations of 1, 5, 10 and 50 chon. These were firstly minted in 1959 and remodeled in 1970 and 1974. In 1978, the minted coins had Chollima horse statue and rising sun designs over them. The 1 won coin was firstly minted in 1987 replacing the 1 won note. The latest coins were minted in 2005 with denominations of 5, 10, 50 and 100 won. These were greater in value but designs were not so much appealing. The material used in their mintage was aluminum. The denominations of banknotes of won are 5, 10, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000 and 5000. Memories of Kim II-sung, national flower Magnolia and other monuments are depicted on the obverse of these notes. There are some markets in Pyongyang in North Korea, which does not accept this national currency. They take Japanese yen and U.S. dollars for the financial transactions.

North Korea Currency Won