The North Korean Stamp Booklet
An Extraordinary Discovery
Unveiling the story of a rare philatelic treasure presented at the PhilaKorea Exhibition.
Historical backgrounds
As we all know, the purpose of stamp issues from the very beginning was to convey political and cultural messages. This was no different in the case of the newly formed North Korean People’s Republic. As the Eastern European countries had experienced after World War II, one occupation after another brings with it much misery, and this was no different in Korea when Russian troops arrived after the Japanese occupation forces.
The story of the booklet cannot be separated from the historical facts, but many details are obscured. What we do know for sure is that the booklet was resting in a collection in Hungary in the last decades. Before that, there must not have been much “room for manoeuvre” for the booklet, given the laws that came into force in the second half of the 20th century, which kept stamp import-export within strict limits.
Issued in 1950
The last stamp included was issued on 4 April 1950, fixing the album’s creation in a very narrow time frame.
Rare Variants
The album contains rare colour varieties and early printings, making it one of the most extraordinary known examples.
Ambassador Kvon O Dik
Probably brought to Hungary in June 1950 as a diplomatic gift during the Ambassador’s inauguration ceremonies.
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