South Korea Currency bears its legacy from the united Korean currency called Won, first used as Korea's currency between 1902 and 1910. With the birth of South Korea in 1945, the Won was accepted as the currency of South Korea. South Korean Currency Won, is closely related to the Chinese Yuan and Japanese Yen as all three are derived from a Chinese character meaning round shape.
South Korea Currency, Won was first subdivided into 100 jeon, for which only bank notes were issued by the Bank of Joseon. These notes were similarly designed as the older notes of the Japanese occupation period, however with two significant changes. The new notes got rid of the clause about exchangeability with the Japanese Yen, and the badge of the Government of Japan, paulownia, was replaced by South Korea's national flower, the Rose of Sharon. In 1950, the new central bank, Bank of Korea was established which took over the duties of Bank of Joseon to handle South Korea currency.
In 1953 the won was replaced by the Hwan at a rate of 1 Hwan=100 won, however for a short span. The won was reintroduced shortly in 1962 at the rate of 1 won=10 Hwan bearing the ISO 4217 code of KRW.
The first coins in South Korea came into use in 1966. These coins were made of brass with a face value of 1, 5 and 10 won. These replaced the equivalent bank notes in South Korea used at that time. During the subsequent years, coins of higher denominations have been introduced from time to time. Along with the new coins, denomination of bank notes also has been increasing. In 1962, six new bank note denominations were introduced: 1, 5, 50, 100 and 500 won.
Currency notes and coins in South Korea have grown along side the economic development in the country from the 1960s. In 1972 and 1973 high denomination notes of 5000 won and 10,000 won were introduced. The security features as well as quality of the bank notes in South Korea have also increased over the time. Some security features include EURion constellation on all notes, color-shifting holograms on 5000 and 10,000 won notes. This development has facilitated the development of South Korea population as a whole.