North Korea ½-CHON (KM183)¶
-
Reverse HORSE
-
Obverse National Emblem
- Composition
- Aluminum
- Country
- North Korea
- Approx. Size
- 27mm
- Area
- Asia
- Animal Class
- Mammals
- Species
- Horse
- KM#
- 183
In 2002, North Korea issued a series 12 coins, eight with animals and four with planes, trains, and ships. There are 100 chon to the won, which makes the denomination of these coins quite small. I doubt these were intended for circulation, but I have included them anyway.
North Korea¶
- Area
- Asia
North Korea -- officially called Democractic People's Republic of Korea -- occupies the northern part of the Korean Peninsula in east Asia. Korea was a single country, ruled by the Japanese, until the end of World War II in 1945. At this time, the northern part was occupied by the Soviet Union, and the southern part was occupied by the United States, with each claiming to rule the entire peninsula. These two superpowers were unable to reach an agreement and in 1950 the north attacked the south, starting the Korean War that would last for three years.Today, the peninsula is cut in half by the Demilitarized Zone, a 248 km long by 4 km wide strip that separates North and South Korea. North Korea is ruled by a military dictatorship, led by Kim Jong-Il and before that by his father, Kim Il-Sung who died in 1994. Like his father, Jong-Il operates under a powerful and extensive personality cult. Amnesty International and other human rights organizations accuse North Korea of having one of the worst human rights records of any country on earth. Most freedoms are severely restricted including freedom of speech and freedom of movement. Refugees who have escaped testify to the existence of concentration camps that practice torture, starvation, and slave labour. North Korea spends 25% of its GDP on its military (compared to one-tenth that for South Korea).
