Korea Stamp Corporation

Korea Stamp Corporation
Native name
조선우표사
Founded12 March 1946 (1946-03-12)
HeadquartersYonggwang Street, Central District, Pyongyang, North Korea
Number of locations
3 offices (2025)
ProductsStamps
OwnerGovernment of North Korea
Websitewww.korstamp.com.kp

The Korea Stamp Corporation (Korean: 조선우표사) is the issuing authority of postage stamps in North Korea. It is headquartered in the capital Pyongyang and has overseas offices in China (Beijing) and Russia (Moscow).[1] It printed its first stamps on 12 March 1946. It had created a total of 3,040 stamp designs by 1991.[2]

In 2022, Lee Sang-hyun, a member of the South Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation as well as a North Korean stamp expert, told Yonhap News Agency that "commemorative stamps bearing the portraits of the three supreme leaders and priced exorbitantly are limited to collectors, while it seems that only commemorative stamps used for regime propaganda (such as ordinary stamps or party founding badges) are used in mail." Yonhap News Agency believes that North Korea uses commemorative stamps for propaganda or to strengthen loyalty to the supreme leader, and also as a means of obtaining foreign exchange. Yonhap News Agency also cited a Kyodo News report as evidence that North Korea began requesting Japanese travel agencies to sell commemorative stamps worth 20,000 Japanese yen (approximately 220,000 Korean won) to Japanese citizens around August 2020.[3]

In 2025, The Korea Times reported that the Corporation published a release notice for new stamps - for the first time - included Russian alongside English, Chinese, and Korean.[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ "About Us". Korea Stamp Corporation. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  2. ^ "Korea Stamp Corporation". Korea Today. Foreign Languages Publishing House. 1991. p. 22. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  3. ^ "[한반도의 오늘] '열일'하는 조선우표사…체제선전 위해 올해 우표 발행 급증" [[Today on the Korean Peninsula] The Joseon Stamp Company is working hard... Stamp issuance surges this year to promote the regime.] (in Korean). November 24, 2022. Retrieved January 13, 2026.
  4. ^ "N. Korea includes Russian language in official postal stamp description for 1st time". The Korea Times. January 10, 2025. Retrieved December 1, 2025.
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