New calendar on North Korean coins

[Harald]

The new North Korean circulation coins are dated in the Juche (Chuch'e) calendar which starts in 1912, the birth year of Kim Il-sung. Another country (after Libya) that uses its own dating system.

Cheers, Harald

[Figleaf]

As if making some of the ugliest coins still circulating wasn't enough, they had to proclaim their megalomania on their coins as well. You have to feel sorry for the population.

The denominations on the 10 and 50 look different compared to the 100.

Peter

[translateltd]

Note that there will be two types for date collectors under this new system, by the looks of things: Juche 94 appears to correspond to both 2005 and 2006 (presumably since Kim the Elder was born in April, the "New Year" will occur during that month).

How will pre-1912 dates be dealt with, I wonder?  BJC??

Martin
NZ
(born JC 54, since my birthday falls before April ...)

[Harald]

The Juche calendar runs parallel to the Gregorian and both years are normally indicated, means today should be May 12, Juche 97 (2008). The calendar starts on January 1st of Kim's birth year, not on his birthday.

BTW, it is somehow frustrating how difficult it is to find out such a trivial fact from web sources. Most articles are either polemics or plain nonsense. Seems to be common reflex to fight a (bovine excrement) regime with counter-(bovine excrement).

--
Harald

[Figleaf]

Wikipedia has a largely correct sub-article on the juche calendar. They just got the starting date wrong and since anyone can change that you can't criticise them for that. On the contrary, you can help the unenlightened see the light.

Peter

[Harald]

Wikipedia indeed does not fall into the "polemics or nonsense" class, the articles are reviewed, so most of the crap is cleaned out in time. I should have mentioned this, but I was pursuing my own polemics reflex ... ;-)

BTW, what I haven't found out is the exact date of introduction. Sometimes in 1997, could have been on January 1st or on Kim's 85th birthday (or any other day).

--
Harald

[translateltd]

The Juche calendar runs parallel to the Gregorian and both years are normally indicated, means today should be May 12, Juche 97 (2008). The calendar starts on January 1st of Kim's birth year, not on his birthday.

If I am reading your scans correctly, the 10 won coin has Juche 94 = 2006, while the 50 and 100 have Juche 94 = 2005, which would indicate a changeover mid-year.

Martin
NZ

[Rangnath]

Yes, I have to agree with Peter:  the coins are not attractive and I do feel sorry for the North Korean population. 
Harald, Martin or Peter, if I were to suddenly show up in a North Korean city, do you think that I would find these coins in use?
richie

[Figleaf]

You would find yourself in jail. The country does not welcome tourists, casual visitors, bible-thumping christians, US commandos blowing up nuclear power plants to please Hollywood directors or any other category of spies.

The largest group admitted are South Korean businessmen willing to invest there. One of my former colleagues went there 3 years ago with a group of investors. He reported not having seen any coins in circulation. This may not mean much, as the group may have spent amounts on hotels and restaurants only (all transportation was organized by their "guides") that are too large for coins.

Peter

[Rangnath]

I guess I asked the question incorrectly.  I meant to say, if suddenly I found myself in North Korea as an ordinary non-bible thumping citizen and ecstatic in the Communist Bliss of our Great Leader Kim Jong Il, not in prison but out celebrating our Leader on a Friday night down at the local pub, would I use change in economic transactions?   
I guess from the feed back from your former colleague, the answer is NO.
richie

[Harald]

I checked the 10 won, the year is 2005 although it really looks like 2006 (not only on the scan).

BTW, the coin set is surprisingly hard to come by, a wide circulation seems to be rather unlikely.
it is unclear to me if for instance 100 won is a big amount of money or not (its purchasing power
within the country). if we take the UN-defined poverty level of 1 USD spending per day (where many
Koreans are below) and apply the official exchange rate it's more or less one of those coins.
could be that 160 won is a little more than a beer in pub.

--
Harald

[Rangnath]

thanks Harold.  When I show up in Pyongyang, I'll now have something to go on.   
Richie

[Figleaf]

"The price of rice in a market in Pyongyang is 1,350 won/kg, which is similar to the price of rice in Sinuiju, 1,400won/kg. In North Korea, the rice price serves as a gauge for price trends.

In Pyongyang, the exchange rate is about 330 thousands won to 100 dollars, which is the same as the exchange rate in other places. The most famous imported cigarettes, Cat (Craven A) is sold at the same cost of 1,500 won in Pyongyang and other areas.

Subsidiary food is more expensive in Pyongyang. The price of cabbage is 400 won/kg, 50 won/kg higher than cabbage price in Sinuiju. The price of pork ranges from 3,500 to 4,000/kg, 500~1,000 won/kg higher than the pork price in other areas.

Movie ticket prices range from 200 to 400 won. Telephone service is charged five won per minute. Overall, the price range for each commodity is high, and many different kinds of goods are available in Jangmadang.

Imported items from China such as socks, sports shoes, or underwear are expensive being sold at a cost of 1,000 won in Pyongyang."

Source: North Korea Economy watch

[Rangnath]

Thanks Peter.  Forty US Cents for a Kg. of rice sounds cheap to me. On the other hand, if it takes three hours or so to earn enough to pay for the kg of rice, then rice becomes expensive, doesn't it?  What surprises me, with an economy completely under control of THE Leader, why would prices vary so much from city to city?  Perhaps rice is being imported from China, and so it is cheaper in Sinuiju than Pyongyang (less transportation costs)?
richie

[Prosit]

The reference point for me is 40 cents a kilo.....about 18 US cents a pound.....very very cheap in my money.  But I agree with Rangnath, what did it take a local to earn that?  What is the average income?

Dale