5000 South Korean Won Banknote (1977 Issue)

5,000 Won (Issued 1977)

South Korea in 1977 was firmly under the authoritarian rule of President Park Chung-hee, whose Yushin constitution of 1972 had concentrated sweeping executive power and driven a period of rapid industrialisation known as the “Miracle on the Han River.” The nation’s economy was expanding at extraordinary speed, fuelled by state-directed heavy industry and export-led growth, yet political freedoms remained severely curtailed. It was against this backdrop of economic transformation and tight governmental control that the Bank of Korea issued this 5,000 Won note, a denomination representing significant purchasing power for ordinary Korean citizens of the era. The note carries both the energy of a modernising nation and the austere visual language of an institution determined to project stability and cultural heritage.

On the front, the dominant feature is a portrait of Yi I, the celebrated sixteenth-century Neo-Confucian scholar and statesman also known by his pen name Yulgok, rendered in a refined intaglio engraving style that gives the image considerable depth and texture. Yi I is depicted wearing traditional Joseon-dynasty official court attire, including a dark, wide-brimmed gat hat, and his features are rendered with careful precision, conveying scholarly composure. To the right of the portrait sits a red seal impression, a traditional Korean stamp device that adds an element of classical authenticity to the design. The denomination is prominently displayed in large Korean hangul characters reading 오천원 at the centre of the note, with the numeral 5000 appearing in the lower left and lower right corners in a warm reddish-brown tone. The issuing authority is identified in Korean as 한국은행 (Bank of Korea) and 한국은행권, printed in clear serif lettering above the central denomination text. The serial number 바자 0603193 사 appears in the upper left and lower right in a slightly reddish-orange ink. The overall colour palette of the front is a warm brown and amber tone, overlaid with intricate guilloché rosette patterns at the centre and geometric latticework borders that provide a layered, ornate background. A circular guilloché medallion is visible behind the central text, and additional decorative floral and scroll motifs frame the lower and left edges of the note. The top right corner features a small panel with 오천 (five thousand) in hangul, and a circular floral design is visible to the right of the portrait, adding further visual complexity to the composition.

The reverse is executed in a consistent warm sepia and brown colour scheme and is dominated by a detailed engraved vignette of a traditional Korean architectural complex, identifiable as Ojukheon, the historic house in Gangneung associated with Yi I and his mother, the artist Shin Saimdang. The building is depicted surrounded by mature trees, with a stone staircase leading up to the main gate, and smaller structures flanking the central hall, all rendered in fine intaglio line work that captures the texture of the tiled roofs and the organic forms of the surrounding vegetation. To the left of the building scene is a large guilloché rosette medallion encircling the numeral 5000, its intricate radial patterning providing both decorative richness and an anti-counterfeiting function. The text “THE BANK OF KOREA” is printed in clear, spaced capital lettering across the upper portion of the note in English, and “5000 WON” appears along the lower edge in bold block capitals. A floral motif, possibly representing peonies or hibiscus blooms, is visible in the lower right corner of the reverse, adding a natural decorative element. Additional fine scroll and latticework borders frame the entire reverse composition, and Korean text appears in the lower right margin, likely denoting the printing authority. The paper has a clean, lightly textured surface consistent with the cotton-fibre banknote stock of the period.

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Other South Korean Won you can exchange: 0.1, 0.5, 1, 5, 10, 50, 100, 500, 1000, 2000.