The won (Korean: 원; symbol: ₩; code: KRW) or the Korean Republic Won is the currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit. The jeon is no longer used for everyday transactions, and appears only in foreign exchange rates. The won is issued by the Bank of Korea, based in the capital city, Seoul. The official currency of North Korea, issued by the Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea which is based in its capital city, Pyongyang, is divided into the same number of units, and is known as the North Korean won.
The old "won" was a cognate of the Chinese yuan and Japanese yen. It is derived from the hanja 元 (원), itself a cognate of the Chinese character 圓 (yuán) which means "round shape." The won was subdivided into 100jeon (Hangul: 전; hanja: 錢; RR: jeon; MR: chŏn), itself a cognate of the Chinese character 錢 (qián) which means "money" and also used as a unit of money in the ancient times.[when?] The current won (1962 to present) is typically written in hangul only.
In 2006, it became a major concern that the Korean won banknotes were being counterfeited/forged. Notably, around 50% of 5000 won notes (worth about US$5) were confiscated as counterfeit. This led the government to issue a new series of banknotes, with the 5000 won note being the first one to be redesigned. Later in 2007, the 1000 and the 10,000 won note was introduced.
On June 23, 2009, the Bank of Korea released the 50,000 Won note. The obverse bears a portrait of Shin Saimdang, a prominent 16th-century artist, calligrapher, and mother of Korean scholar Yulgok, also known as Yi I, who is on the 5,000 Won note. This note is the first Korean banknote that features the portrait of a woman. The release of the 50,000 won note stirred some controversy among shop owners and those with visual impairments due to its similarity in color and numerical denomination with the 5,000 won note.
