After decades of having no currency larger in value than the 10,000 won (in Korean “man won,” worth about US$8) bill, the long-awaited 50,000 won bill has finally made its debut in Korea.

The new 50,000 won banknotes went into circulation Tuesday (June 23), marking the first new issuance of paper currency in 36 years since 1973, when the 10,000 won note was introduced.

Until this week, the 10,000 won note had been the highest-denominated bills, followed by 5,000 won and 1,000 won.

However, the need for a higher banknote had long been discussed, as prices and the gross national income jumped 12-fold and 150-fold, respectively, since 1973.

The Bank of Korea said the new banknote was made available to the public from 9 a.m. through bank tellers and selected automated teller machines (ATMs) nationwide.

However, people are likely to experience some inconvenience for the time being, as it will take time for banks to replace or upgrade their existing ATMs and bill-paying machines to handle the new 50,000-won bills at all branches.

The new yellow-toned note features Shin Saimdang (1504-1551) of the Joseon Dynasty (1391-1910) who was a renowned woman writer, artist and calligrapher.

She was also famous as the mother of Confucian scholar Yi I, or Yulgok (1536-1584), who appears on the 5,000 won note.

Shin has now become the first woman to appear on a Korean bill.

(Photo: Yonhap News)

The new notes are also expected to lower the demand for, and costs of, issuing and storing 100,000-won bankers'' checks.

Banks currently spend a total of 280 billion won a year to issue the 100,000-won checks.

The new bill features advanced anti-forgery features, such as a security thread and watermark.

By Han Aran
Korea.net Staff Writer

* source : Korea.net