The South Korean won
Currency · KRW · ₩ · 1 country
South Korea brought the won back on 10 June 1962, when one won replaced ten hwan, and the Bank of Korea has issued it since. The name had been used before. A first South Korean won replaced the colonial-era yen at par after 1945 and gave way to the hwan in February 1953.
The sign
The sign ₩ writes won as a W crossed by a stroke. The word comes from the hanja 圓, round, after the shape of the Spanish-American silver dollar, the same root as the yuan and the yen; the current won is written only in hangul, 원. The jeon, a hundredth, survives only in exchange rates.
The same sign stands for the North Korean won.
- ISO code
- KRW
- ISO number
- 410
- Fraction
- None, amounts are whole units
An amount, written out
₩1,234
- ₩1,234English, KoreanSouth Korea
The sign in code
HTML, CSS, JavaScript, UTF-8
- HTML
₩₩- CSS
content: "\20A9";- JavaScript
"\u20A9"- UTF-8
0xE2 0x82 0xA9- UTF-16
0x20A9- UTF-32
0x000020A9
Where the South Korean won is the official currency
South Korea uses the won alone, and it has been the sole legal tender there since the last hwan coins were withdrawn on 22 March 1975.
About the South Korean won
Who issues the won and who makes it
The Bank of Korea, set up on 12 June 1950 to take over the duties of the Bank of Joseon, holds the sole right to issue banknotes and coins. It does not print or strike them. KOMSCO, the Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation, a government-owned company, makes both under the bank's guidance, then bundles the notes and rolls the coins and ships them to the bank's headquarters. They wait in its vault until commercial banks ask for cash. Demand peaks around Seollal and Chuseok, the two big holidays, when the bank sends large amounts to commercial banks for their customers.
How the won gave way to the hwan
Under Japanese rule from 1910 to 1945 Koreans used the Korean yen, at par with the Japanese one. Division in 1945 produced two currencies, both called won. The southern one did not last: the Korean War drove severe inflation, and on 15 February 1953 the Bank of Korea replaced it with the hwan at 100 won to one hwan. The first hwan notes still said won. The bank explains that they had been produced before the reform at the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing for another purpose.
The won returned in 1962 at ten hwan to one won. Old hwan coins kept circulating, revalued, and only on 22 March 1975, when the last of them were withdrawn, did the won become the sole legal tender.
Why metal prices keep reshaping the coins
The Bank of Korea's first won coins came out on 16 August 1966, and they were the first South Korean coins dated by the Gregorian calendar. Metal prices have steered them ever since. By 1968 the brass in the 1 won coin was worth far more than the coin, so the bank switched it to aluminium. A 500 won coin arrived on 12 June 1982, when inflation and vending machines had made a larger coin useful. The 10 won coin shrank on 18 December 2006 to a copper-coated aluminium disc of 18 millimetres, after its production cost had climbed above its face value.
The 1 and 5 won coins have rarely circulated since 1992, and shops round prices to the nearest 10 won.
Who appears on the notes
The notes show two scholars, a king and an artist. Toegye Yi Hwang is on the 1,000, Yulgok Yi I on the 5,000 and King Sejong the Great on the 10,000. The 50,000 won note, issued on 23 June 2009, carries Shin Saimdang, a sixteenth-century artist and calligrapher and Yulgok's mother, the first woman on a Korean banknote. Shop owners and people with impaired sight complained that it was easy to confuse with the 5,000 in colour and figures.
A 100,000 won note was announced alongside it and then cancelled. Its planned image, the Daedongyeojido map, drew objections because the map leaves out the islets Korea calls Dokdo. Kim Ku, the figure proposed for it, was also contested on the South Korean right.
Why redenomination keeps coming back
Members of the National Assembly have proposed more than once that a new unit worth 1,000 old won replace the won. Proponents say a heavier unit would better reflect the economy. Opponents have so far been the majority, citing the economic harm of a quick change and limited savings. They also argue that confidence in the won is not in question.
Common questions
Questions about the South Korean won
Why is the Korean currency called the won?
The word comes from the hanja 圓, meaning round, which described the shape of the Spanish-American silver dollar. That coin circulated widely in trade between Asia and the Americas, and the Chinese yuan and the Japanese yen take their names from the same source. Since 1962 the won has been written in hangul only, as 원, with no official hanja.
What was the hwan?
South Korea's currency from 15 February 1953 to 1962. The Bank of Korea brought it in at 100 won to one hwan to damp the inflation of the Korean War, then reversed course in 1962 with a new won worth ten hwan. Hwan coins stayed in use until 22 March 1975.
Who is the woman on the 50,000 won note?
Shin Saimdang, a sixteenth-century artist and calligrapher who lived from 1504 to 1551 according to the Bank of Korea. She was the mother of the scholar Yulgok Yi I, who appears on the 5,000 won note, so mother and son are both on the country's money. The Bank of Korea released the note on 23 June 2009, and it was the first Korean banknote to carry a woman's portrait. Its colour and figures drew complaints that it looked too much like the 5,000.
Does South Korea still use 1 won coins?
They are still made, in small numbers each year for the Bank of Korea's annual mint sets, but the 1 and 5 won coins have rarely been seen in circulation since 1992. Prices in shops are rounded to the nearest 10 won, so everyday change starts at the 10 won piece.
Why was the 100,000 won note cancelled?
The note was announced together with the 50,000 won note, and its release was then called off in a controversy over its planned design. The image was to be the Daedongyeojido map, which does not include the islets Korea calls Dokdo, and the proposed portrait of Kim Ku was contested among the South Korean right.