Солтүстік Корея вонының тарихы мен айналымы

Official currency of North Korea
the official currency of North Korea

The Korean People's won, more commonly known as the North Korean won (Symbol: ₩; Code: KPW; hangul=조선 원) and sometimes known as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea won (hangul=조선민주주의인민공화국 원), is the official currency of North Korea. It is subdivided into 100 chon. The currency is issued by the Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, based in the North Korean capital city of Pyongyang.

Won is a cognate of the Chinese yuan and Japanese yen. All three names derive from the Hanja [[wikt:圓 (원), which means "round shape". The won is subdivided into 100 chon (전; 錢; McCune Reischauer: chŏn; Revised Romanization: jeon).

After the division of Korea, North Korea continued using the Korean yen for two years, until the Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was established on 6 December 1947 and the first North Korean won was issued. In February 1959, the second North Korean won was introduced, equal to 100 old won. From 1978 on, the North Korean government maintained an iconic rate of 2.16 won to the US dollar (which is said to have been based upon Kim Jong Il's birthday, 16 February). Over the decades, however, rampant inflation eroded the currency's value, and from 2001 the government abandoned the rate in favor of those closer to the black market's. A report by defectors from North Korea claimed the black market rate was ₩570 to the Chinese yuan (about ₩4,000 per U. S. dollar) in June 2009.

The third North Korean won was introduced in a revaluation lt=in November 2009, the first in 50 years. North Koreans were given seven days to exchange a maximum of ₩100,000 (worth approximately US$40 on the black market) in ₩1,000 notes for ₩10 notes, but after protests by some of the populace, the limit was raised to ₩150,000 in cash and ₩300,000 in bank savings. The official exchange rate at this time was around $740, but black market value of the ₩150,000 was estimated to be near $30. The revaluation, seen as a move against private market activity, wiped out many North Koreans' savings. As part of the process, the old notes ceased to be legal tender on 30 November 2009, but notes valued in the new won were not distributed until 7 December 2009. army bases were put on alert and there were unconfirmed reports of public protests in the streets in a handful of North Korean cities and towns, forcing authorities to slightly increase the amount of currency people were allowed to exchange. Piles of old bills were also set on fire in separate locations across the country, old paper notes were dumped in a stream (against laws of the desecration of images of Kim Il Sung), and two black market traders were shot dead in the streets of Pyongsong by local police, according to international reports. Authorities threatened "merciless punishment" for any person violating the rules of the currency change. Pictures of the new notes were published on 4 December 2009 in the Chosun Shinbo, a North Korean newspaper based in Japan. The paper claimed that the measure would weaken the free market and strengthen the country's socialist system. However, the won plummeted 96 percent against the U. S. dollar in the ensuing days after revaluation. Authorities eventually raised the limit to 500,000 won, Chosun reported, and promised no probes into savings of up to one million won, and unlimited withdrawals if savings of more than one million were properly accounted for. In February 2010, some of the curbs on the free market were eased, and a senior party official was sacked after incidents of unrest. Pak Nam gi, the director of the Planning and Finance Department of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, was executed later in 2010. North Korea denied any serious crisis relating to the revaluation.

No coins were issued under the first won of 1947–1959.

The first banknotes of "North Korea" were issued in 1945 by the Soviet backed provisional government above the 38th parallel. These were in denominations of 1, 5, 10, and 100 won. These were discontinued shortly after Soviet forces withdrew and recognized the newly independent state.

This currency was issued in all banknote form, with the first banknotes of this issue in denominations of 15, 20, and 50 chon along with 1, 5, 10 and 100 won in 1947. The chon notes had stylized art designs, while the won denominations were fairly uniform in design, featuring a farmer and a worker standing together and holding the symbolic tools. This currency was later revalued in 1959 at a rate of one new won to 100 old won to curb the inflation that had occurred as a result of the Korean War.

Lockdowns due to the COVID 19 pandemic have caused shortages in ink and paper used to print regular KPW banknotes, resulting in the issuance in the second half of 2021 of an emergency currency printed with the word donpyo (돈표 or "money coupon"). The coupons are in denominations of 5,000 won, printed in red ink, and 50,000 won, printed in green ink, both on white paper of poor quality. Shortages in regular KPW banknotes after 2020 have also resulted in a premium in their exchange values in the black markets. The donpyo is discounted versus regular banknotes at only 3,800 4,000 KPW, and KPW banknotes have even appreciated versus the US dollar from 8,000 KPW to 5,200 KPW/USD.

The North Korean won is not traded in the international markets. It is traded in the unofficial black markets at around US$1 = 8,000 KPW as of 2019 and around $1 = 5,000 KPW as of 2021.

North Korean won are intended exclusively for North Korean citizens, and the Bank of Trade (무역은행) issued a separate currency (or foreign exchange certificates) for visitors, like many other socialist states. However, North Korea made two varieties of foreign exchange certificates, one for visitors from "socialist countries" which were colored red and hence nicknamed "red won", and the other for visitors from "capitalist countries" which were colored blue/green and hence known as "blue won". The chon notes had a simple design of patterns and corresponding values, while the socialist won notes depict the International Friendship Exhibition, and the capitalist won notes depict the Chollima Statue. FECs were used until 1999, then officially abolished in 2002, in favor of visitors paying directly with hard currencies.

After the 2009 revaluation, the BBC reported that in some department stores in Pyongyang, the North Korean won is not accepted; the stores only take Japanese yen and U. S. dollars. As of 2018 it has evolved to most North Korean stores accepting U. S. dollars, euros and Chinese yuan/renminbi, with change from transactions primarily returned in renminbi or U. S. dollars. Foreign visitors (and privileged locals) can buy goods priced in 'tied' won using a local debit card, which is credited when exchanging foreign currency at the official bank rate of around 104 won/USD or 130 won/EUR (as of 2012). This card can be used for instance at the famous Pyongyang Department Store No. 1 or at the different stores at the international hotels, where the goods are priced at the tied won rate. This tied won does not exist in the form of bank notes, and is effectively a separate currency and accounting unit for sales involving foreign exchange. In normal stores and markets goods are priced in what has been called the 'untied' won or free market rate which is represented by regular KPW banknotes. At for instance the Tongil Market and the Kwangbok Department Store (a. k. a. the Chinese Market) there are semi official exchange agents who will give in regular banknotes around 8,000 KPW/USD or 10,000 KPW/EUR to locals and foreign visitors alike (as of 2012, or 77 times the tied or official rate). The untied KPW is used for prices in normal shops outside restricted state shops/tied won shops.