Bank of Korea Money Museum

Bank of Korea Money Museum is in the heart of downtown Seoul and was a phenomenal find! I never even heard of the place, but when I was passing by and saw people walking out of elegantly old, stately building that smacked of government money, I took a closer look at the large "marble" sign in front. A banking museum?! I decided I had time to go in!

Anti-counterfeiting Efforts

Central banks and minting offices around the world make great effort to develop anti-counterfeiting devices in order to combat increasingly sophisticated counterfeiting techniques.

Before the 1990s - characteristic banknote paper or special printing methods were used, e.g. watermarks and micro lettering.

From the 1990s - 2000 -- Additional features like windowed thread, intaglio latent images, optically variable ink, and special presses and soldering were developed and employed.

From 2006 to the present -- With forged banknotes increasing due to technological advances in digital devices, color printers and scanners, new security features like moving images in a striped band and band-type holograms have been adopted.

Examples of counterfeit banknotes: top (counterfeit), bottom (authentic)

High-tech process for making the modern authentic banknote

Security thread, comber noil (the short fibers remaining when cotton is spun into yarn), and florescent thread are woven into acid-free cotton pulp paper undergoing durability-building processes.

The paper then undergoes a systemic series of printings to layer prints on top of intaglios on top of varying colors ...

And the same series of printings with colors, iridescent dyes, itaglios, etc is also on the back side.

Design Symbolism on the Korean Banknotes

Each of the four banknotes in Korea (W1,000 ... W5,000 ... W10,000 ... W50,000) are imbued with cultural symbolism. Who is the great respected person on each banknotes and what are the primary symbolisms employed? All banknotes have highly recognized pieces of great art or scientific learning -- art, architecture, astronomy -- and each select piece contains deep symbolic value, e.g. books for scholarship, pine tree for the uprightness of the scholar and an eternal symbol, certain plants for longevity, wisdom, blessings, wealth, and the continuation of a family dynasty through a son, clocks and ancient maps lauding scientific learning and great advancement, to name a few.

W50,000

FRONT (OBVERSE) VIEW

Shin Saimdang, one of the most brilliant members of the literati and a calligrapher and painter of the Joseon Dynasty, excelled at poetry, handwriting and painting. She is well-known for her "Insects and Plants", which reveal many traditional Korean themes imbued with cultural value.

"Insects and Plants" (Treasure No 595)

"Mukpododo"

BACK (REVERSE) VIEW

Lee Jeong's Poongjukdo and Eo Mongryong's Wolmaedo are among the most typical paintings of the mid-Joseon Dynasty, depicting bamboo and ume flowers, respectively.

 W10,000

FRONT (OBVERSE) VIEW

King Sejong the Great was the fourth king of the Joseon Dynasty among whose great achievements was the creation of Hangeul (the Korean alphabet). 

"Inworobongdo" (The sun, moon, and five peaks) symbolizes the king in the Joseon Dynasty, and Yongbieochaeonga (Songs of the Flying Dragon) was the first literary work written in Hangeul.

BACK (REVERSE) VIEW

Cheonsangyeolchabunyajido (National Treasure No. 228) is an astronomical map produced during the reign of King Taejo, founder of the Joseon Dynasty, showing the original astronomical view of our ancestors.

Hongcheonui is the celestial globe element of Honcheonsigye (National Treasure No. 230), an astronomical timepiece invented in the reign of Joseon's King Hyeonjong.

The Optical Astronomical Telescope in Bohyunsan Optical Astronomy Observatory is the largest reflecting telescope in Korea.

 W5,000

FRONT (OBVERSE) VIEW

Yi I (Yulgok) was a Confucian scholar and politician during the middle Joseon Dynasty. Ojukheon (Treasure No. 165) was Yi I's childhood home, the place of his upbringing. It was so named because it was surrounded by ojuk (black bamboos).

BACK (REVERSE) VIEW

"Insects and Plants" as appearing on the W50,000 bill is part of a eight-panel folding screen, painted by Shin Saimdang. Two more of the panels appear on the W5,000 bill: "A Cockscomb and a Frog" and "A Watermelon and a Katydid". 

W1,000

FRONT (OBVERSE) VIEW

Yi Hwang (Toeggye) was a Confucian scholar during the mid-Joseon Dynasty.

Myeongnyundang (Treasure No. 141) is the building in the Seonggyungwan where students were taught.

BACK (REVERSE) VIEW

Gyesangjeonggeodo (Treasure No. 585) is a painting of the seodang, where Toeggye stayed, and its surround scenery. It is one of the masterpieces drawn by Jeong Seon (Gyeomjae).

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Anyone can walk through the museum, but do pay attention that the second floor closes a bit earlier than the other floors (at 4pm). Reservations for a specific language guided tour are possible:

a high recommend!