DPR Korea - (1992) Birds of Korea

조선의조류: BIRDS OF KOREA

작은찌르러기: Daurian Starling
80전: 80 Chon 


Text before "JAPAN": Unknown
The Korean characters in the top left of the stamp itself are: 작은찌르러기
I think this means "Daurian Starling," name of a bird. (See below).

However, it is confusing and one might think the Korean characters on this stamp are not spelled correctly, as the common name of another bird is "White-cheeked Starling" if we omit the "작은" and replace the "러" with a "레." It is common in Korea that many animals which are not common to that nation will simply be called "big" and "작은, " meaning, "small," instead of having a distinctive name.

Amidst all the Korean characters confusion, we have the Latin word for this animal.
Upon searching for that, I am quite sure (but not positive) the bird in question is the "Daurian Starling," commonly found in North Korea.  More, but not much more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daurian_Starling

Quality: CTO

DPR Korea - (1999) Charles Darwin 챨즈 다윈과 진화론

주체88 (1999) DPR Korea - Charles Darwin

This is my very first post and my first stamp I have ever bought from DPR Korea.
I will translate the contents of this stamp, so that you could understand its contents, and make notes in your own collection.

챨즈 다윈과 진화론: Charles Darwin and the Theory of Evolution" [Top Bolded Large Text]

진화론의 창시자 챨즈 다윈: The Founder of the Theory of Evolution, Charles Darwin. [Above Charles' Head]

1809-1882

조선우표, 주체88: Chosun Stamp, Juche 88 (1999) [White Space]

DPR Korea

2원: 2 won.

챨즈 다윈 출생 190돐: The 190th birthday of Charles Darwin (1809-1999)

So, the 88 prior to the 1999 means "Juche years," according to the DPR Korea reckoning of time.  If I am not mistaken, they count time from when Kim Il Sung was born, so it was only the year "88" when it was 1999 A.D. for the rest of the world.  I wonder what North Koreans think when they see "1999," but then again they probably do not have an opportunity to see this stamp.

Quality: MNH.




One other stamp / stamps from this collection appears below.

척추통물들의 갈기기판


Quality: Not owned yet

Introduction - Read this first

I am just starting this blog, so it will come together slowly.

Feel free to comment or ask me anything.

At the moment, I am looking to acquire stamps from the Korea (s), as I am just starting off.  If you have anything to offer, please message me with your information.

Brief Introduction to Korean Stamps

Any stamp that has "DPR Korea" on it is a North Korean Stamp.  It may also have simply the Korean characters "조선우표," meaning Chosun stamp.  North Koreans call their country "Chosun."

You may see many North Korea stamps for sale and they seem to be postmarked.  At the same time, you may wonder how this can be as it might strike you as surprising that North Koreans have the funds, or that they are allowed to send letter mail.  If the stamp seems very cleanly applied, such as right in the top left corner, then this stamp was probably a CTO (cancelled-to-order).  In general, this occurs so that the stamp could be sold to a collector at a rate lower than the face value, and the stamp prevents them for using it for sending mail.  Furthermore, a stamp which has been post-marked may actually be worth more down the road, as compared to one that is untouched.  It just depends.

Stamps from South Korea will usually have just the name of that country in Korean characters "대한민국" following by "우표," meaning, stamp.

Prior to the division of these two countries, it is important to note that Korea proper referred to the land mass of both of these nations, and so the basic term "Korean stamp," should refer to one used prior to the split.