Philately Week Special - August 1, 2007


The 2007 Korean Philatelic Exhibition will be held from August 1 to 5, 2007 at the Forth Exhibition Room, Asia Pacific Hall, COEX.


At this Exhibition, approximately 500 frames of excellent stamp exhibits and invited stamp exhibits will be displayed. To celebrate the holding of the PHILAKOREA 2009 24th Asian International Stamp Exhibition in Seoul, the PHILAKOREA 2009 emblem will be announced. In addition, to facilitate the sharing and mutual understanding of inter-Asian culture, the “Asia Stamp Culture Room” where visitors can experience various Asian countries through stamps and photographs will be operated. The “Korea Stamp Culture Room” will also be a new feature, introducing Korea’s traditional daily life culture, together with stamps, photos and related objects. At the “Living Things Stamp Experience Room” designed for young stamp-collectors, animal and plant specimen will be displayed together with stamps, with the program being named “Fascinating Biology that Can be Learned from Stamps”. Together with these elements, other interesting stamp-based events will be operated through the “Cyber Stamp Culture Room,” “History of Stamp & Currency Room,” “Original Drawings of Stamps Exhibition Room,” “Stamp-Collecting & Letter-Writing Culture Room,” a musical puppet show, magic show, etc.

This year’s special stamp issued to commemorate the “Philately Week” will take the form of “stamps in a stamp.” The inner stamps are composed of a “5-Mun” unit stamp and a “10-Mun” unit stamp (Mun used to be a Korean currency unit), two stamps that were actually issued and used among the “Mun unit” series stamps, Korea’s first stamps. In addition, this special stamp will be a photochromic stamp: a light-sensitive pigment which changes color when exposed to ultraviolet light is capsulated and applied to the stamp printing: The letter ‘五文’ on the two sides of the “5-Mun” unit stamp and the letter '拾文’ on the two sides of the “10-Mun” unit stamp were printed with light-sensitive ink. As a result, the letters, which normally have no color, turn red when exposed to ultraviolet-containing sunlight. This special stamp will provide fun and delight to stamp collectors.

Definitive Postage Stamp (70 won) - July 10, 2007


According to the practice of periodic replacement of definitive postage stamps, the 70 KRW stamp featuring a Chinese lantern, issued on March 15, 1995, will be replaced by a stamp featuring an Arctous ruber (Rehder & Wilson) Nakai, beginning July 10, 2007.

Arctous ruber (Rehder & Wilson) Nakai, which produces small and appetizing fruits, is designated as a rare and endangered species of wild flora. It is a leaf-dropping shrub that grows in the alpine plain, and its only known habitat within South Korea is Seoraksan Mountain. In North Korea, it can be found on Baekdusan Mountain, the Gaema Plateau, etc. There are three species of genus Arctous found around the world and one of them is indigenous to Korea. Their stems creep into the underground, with 2~3 light-yellow-colored flowers blossoming between May and July. From August to September, the shrub bears a round, red-colored fruit that tastes sweet and sour.

Title : Definitive Postage Stamp (70 won)
Types : 1
Date of Issue : July 10, 2007
Quantity : Two million stamps (Continue to be issued as required)
Denomination : 70 won
Design : Arctous ruber (Rehder & Wilson) Nakai
Stamp No. : 2569
Printing Process and Colors : Photogravure, five colors
Size of Stamp : 22mm x 25mm
Image Area : 22mm x 25mm
Perforation : 13
Sheet Composition : 10 x 10 (242mm x 280mm)
Paper : White Unwatermarked
Designer : Roh Junghwa
Printer : Korea Minting and Security Printing Corporation

Goguryeo Series (3rd) - July 2, 2007


What was daily life like in Goguryeo? Around the mid 5th century, Goguryeo occupied the largest territory in Korea’s history. The initial mural paintings in ancient tombs, drawn around this period, described the details of daily lives and customs, in the hope that an abundant life in this world will be renewed in the afterlife. The last segment of the Goguryeo series re-introduces the life of the people of Goguryeo seen through the murals in ancient Goguryeo tombs.

Goguryeo people, both men and women, wore the jeogori (jacket) and baji (trousers), with women usually wearing a chima (skirt) on top of the baji. A cloth of different color was attached to the parts of clothing that could get easily dirty and worn-out, such as the edge of the outerwear sleeve or the chima’s hem. This attached cloth also served a decorative purpose. As for their diet, they ground grains such as millet, bean, wheat, barley, African millet, Chinese millet and steamed them in an earthenware steamer. They raised cows, pigs, chickens and dogs, while hunting mountain pigs, roe deer, pheasants, etc. Maekjok, thought to be a Goguryeo meat dish, is the predecessor of today’s bulgogi. Also shown in the tomb murals are various architectural styles. A nobleman’s mansion was composed of sarangchae (men’s quarters) and anchae (women’s quarters). Around the anchae were a kitchen, butcher’s area, rice mill, stable, horse barn, carriage shed, etc. with a garden cultivated on the corner of the wide yard. A commoner’s house had a simple, one or two room structure, as shown by the ruins of house sites. In addition, the murals indicate that the Goguryeo people enjoyed archery, hunting and various arts such as dancing and playing musical instruments.

The new stamps feature the kitchen of the Anak Tomb No. 3 murals (South Hwanghae Province, North Korea) and the part of Muyongchong (Muyong Tomb, Jian, China) murals that describes a host welcoming his guest. The selvage of the stamp sheet features: the part of Deokheung-ri Mural Tomb (Nampo, N\orth Korea) that depicts a noblewoman going out on a visit; several parts of the Muyongchong murals that depict dancers, servants carrying small dining tables and people playing horns; the part of Susan-ri Mural Tomb (Nampo, North Korea) that describes people performing acrobatics; and a Saiho (four-eared pot), Goguryeo’s representative earthenware.