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| Korean won (1908–1910) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Korean won (1908–1910) |
| Local name lang | ko |
| Introduced | 1908 |
| Withdrawn | 1910 |
| Subunit name | jeon |
| Subunit ratio | 1/100 |
| Issuing authority | Korean Empire, Bank of Korea (1909) |
| Pegged to | Japanese yen (de facto) |
Korean won (1908–1910) was a short-lived currency issued during the final years of the Korean Empire that sought to modernize monetary circulation amid Japanese Empire influence and international pressure. It appeared in a period marked by the Russo-Japanese War, the Eulsa Treaty, and the ascendancy of Itō Hirobumi and Terauchi Masatake in Korean affairs, before being absorbed into the Japanese yen system following the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty. The currency’s issuance intersected with reforms associated with Gojong of Korea, Sunjong of Korea, and financial actors such as the Bank of Korea (1909), Daehan Mint Office, and foreign interests including Gold standard proponents.
The Korean monetary landscape before 1908 included the traditional mun and yang (Korean coin), circulation influenced by Qing dynasty trade, and attempts at modern currency reform by Emperor Gojong and the Ministry of Finance (Korean Empire). International events such as the Sino-Japanese War, the Triple Intervention, the Anglo-Japanese Alliance, and the Korean–Japanese Treaty of 1907 reshaped fiscal sovereignty, while financial missions involving figures like Horace Newton Allen and institutions like the Korea Exchange Bank pushed toward Western-style banking. The collapse of silver prices, debates among Gresham's law advocates, and the presence of British Empire and United States commercial interests complicated choices between silver, gold, and the Japanese yen.
Legislative steps creating the won involved edicts from Gojong of Korea and administrative acts by ministers tied to the Korean Empire cabinet and the Ministry of Finance (Korean Empire), influenced by Japanese advisors associated with Resident-General of Korea. The Currency Ordinance of 1908 and chartering of the Bank of Korea (1909) formalized issuance powers; names linked to policy debates included Yi Yong-ik, Min Yong-hwan, and Japanese officials from the Government-General of Korea. International law concerns referenced the Hague Convention era norms and treaties such as the Eulsa Treaty (1905) and the Japan–Korea Protectorate Treaty (1905), all shaping legal recognition of the won.
Coin and note designs combined indigenous motifs with modern security elements overseen by the Daehan Mint Office and printers influenced by firms like De La Rue and foundries linked to Mitsubishi. Issues included copper, nickel, and silver coins denominated in jeon and won, plus banknotes from the Bank of Korea (1909) bearing imagery associated with Goryeo and Joseon iconography. Numismatists compare specimens to earlier Korean mun series, later Japanese military currency, and contemporary notes produced for Manchukuo and Taiwan (Japanese rule). Collectors and cataloguers such as those inspired by museums like the National Museum of Korea and institutions including the Bank of Japan archives have traced printing plates and die variants.
The won circulated alongside existing coinage and the increasing influx of Japanese yen and Chinese yuan; commercial centers like Busan, Incheon, Seoul, and treaty ports mediated exchange rates under the influence of merchants from United Kingdom, United States, Russia, and Japan. The won’s adoption affected taxation administered by agencies such as the Customs Service (Korea) and revenue remittances overseen by colonial administrators like Terauchi Masatake. Agricultural regions tied to rice exports, merchant families like the Andong Kim clan, and trading houses akin to chaebol predecessors experienced price adjustments, credit shifts involving Samsung-era antecedents, and debates in the Korean press represented by outlets like The Independent (Korean newspaper).
With the Japan–Korea Annexation Treaty (1910), the won was formally withdrawn and replaced by the yen under directives from the Government-General of Korea led by figures such as Terauchi Masatake and administrators from Bank of Japan. Exchange mechanisms, confiscation orders, and transition policies paralleled other annexation-era integrations such as the currency conversions after the Annexation of Taiwan; they prompted legal disputes referenced in cases involving former Korean officials, petitions to courts modeled on Meiji era institutions, and negotiations involving foreign legations like those of the United Kingdom and United States.
The 1908–1910 won remains a focus for historians of Korean Empire sovereignty debates, monetary historians studying transitions between silver and gold standards, and numismatists cataloguing short-lived emissions akin to emergency issues in European and Asian contexts. Its legacy appears in museum collections at the National Museum of Korea, archival holdings at the Bank of Korea, scholarship by historians of Korean independence movement and studies of imperial integration with Japanese colonial rule in Korea. The currency symbolizes the terminal phase of Joseon dynasty financial autonomy and is cited in works on colonial economic policy, treaty law, and the broader geopolitical realignments presaging World War I.
Category:Modern obsolete currencies Category:Korean Empire