North Korean won

The Korean People's won, more commonly known as the North Korean won (Symbol: ₩; Code: KPW; Korean: 조선 원) and sometimes known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea won (Korean: 조선민주주의인민공화국 원), is the official currency of North Korea. It is subdivided into 100 chon. The currency is issued by the Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, based in the North Korean capital city of Pyongyang. Etymology of the Korean currencies Won is a cognate of the Chinese yuan and Japanese yen. All three names derive from the Hanja 圓 (원), which means "round shape". The won is subdivided into 100 chon (전; 錢; McCune-Reischauer: chŏn; Revised Romanization: jeon). History of the Korean currencies After the division of Korea, North Korea continued using the Korean yen for two years, until the Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was established on 6 December 1947 and the first North Korean won was issued. In February 1959, the second North Korean won was introduced, equal to 100 old won. From 1978 on, the North Korean government maintained an iconic rate of 2.16 won to the US dollar (which is said to have been based upon Kim Jong Il's birthday, 16 February). Over the decades, however, rampant inflation eroded the currency's value, and from 2001 the government abandoned the rate in favor of those closer to the black market's. A report by defectors from North Korea claimed the black market rate was ₩570 to the Chinese yuan (about ₩4,000 per U.S. dollar) in June 2009. The third North Korean won was introduced in a revaluation in November 2009, the first in 50 years. North Koreans were given seven days to exchange a maximum of ₩100,000 (worth approximately US$40 on the black market) in ₩1,000 notes for ₩10 notes, but after protests by some of the populace, the limit was raised to ₩150,000 in cash and ₩300,000 in bank savings. The official exchange rate at this time was around$740, but black market value of the ₩150,000 was estimated to be near $30.