Korea North (DPRK)

Dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, Charles Darwin on stamps and postmarks of Korea North


North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, is a country in East Asia, in the northern part of the Korean Peninsula. Pyongyang is both the nation's capital as well as its largest city, with a population just over 2.5 million. To the north and northwest the country is bordered by China and by Russia along the Amnok (known as the Yalu in China) and Tumen rivers. The country is bordered to the south by South Korea (officially the Republic of Korea), with the heavily-fortified Korean Demilitarized Zone separating the two. [R1]

The first stamps of North Korea were issued on 12 March 1946: Rose of Sharon and Samson Rock. Stamps prior to 1974 dealt primarily with subjects relating specifically to North Korea, its foundation, Kim Il-Sung and other patriotic themes. After 1974, in a bid to bring more hard currency into the country, North Korea began issuing stamps with wide-ranging themes (such as Joan of Arc, airships, sports, wildlife, fossils, dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals) using English descriptions. Wording on the stamps is mostly in Korean. The term "DPR Korea" is written in English. [R2]
Distinguished from most of other countries in the world, North Korea issued separate stamps for foreign stamp collectors and regular postal use.
Dinosaur on circulated cover of North Korea
Dinosaur stamp 2017 on circulated cover of North Korea MiNr.: 6408, Scott:
  • Stamps for collectors are printed on high quality paper and are almost always issued in conjunction with miniature sheets, do not enter the internal postal system apart from being used by foreigners and are largely unknown to the general population. Many additional philatelic materials such as imperforate stamps, proofs, postal stationery, aerograms etc. issued to be sold for rich collectors.
  • Stamps for regular postal needs are issued for regular postal are printed on relatively poor quality paper, thin, soft and yellowish. This however, changed beginning in 1995, after which it is more difficult to tell the difference between the two issues.
Stamps for regular postal use are distributed by local post offices throughout the country. Stamps for collectors are printed in China and have very high face value compared to stamps for domestic need. [R3] These stamps are sold outside the country by some distributors and are sold directly at various philatelic shows in the Asia by the Korea Stamps Corporation. It is even possible to prepare a cover either in advance or at their booth, and ask them to post it when they return to Korea.

Due to the facts above, the philatelic value of these stamps is questionable and they should be avoided in serious collections. However, some major catalogs do list these stamps and they potentially can used as postage.




Official stamps of North Korea related to Paleontology: dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, fossils, Charles Darwin


21.02.1990 "Human Evolution" 21.05.1991 "Fauna of the Mesozoic" [1] 01.06.1992 "Human Evolution"
Paleolithic and Neolithic mans on Human Evolution on stamps of North Korea 1990 prehistoric animals and dinosaurs on Fauna of Mesozoic stamps of North Korea 1991 stone and bronze age scenes on Human Evolution on stamps of North Korea 1992
10.08.1994 "Fossils of Korea" 15.05.1995 "Fossils of Korea" 05.07.1997 "Fossils: trilobites"
Fossils on stamps of North Korea 1994 Fossils on stamps of North Korea 1995 Fossils on stamps of North Korea 1997
15.06.1998 "Korean Central History Museum" 20.05.1999 "190th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birthday" 10.02.2000 "Dinosaurs" [4]
stone tools and hominids on Korean Central History Museum stamps of North Korea 1998 Charles Darwin on stamps of North Korea 1999 Dinosaurs on stamps of North Korea 2000
05.03.2000 "Animals of the Mesozoic" 06.10.2000 "Espana 2000" (overprint) 20.05.2004 "Fossils of Korea"
prehistoric animals and dinosaurs of Mesozoic on stamps of North Korea 2000 prehistoric animals and dinosaurs of Mesozoic on overprinted stamps of North Korea 2000 Fossils on stamps of North Korea 2004
13.04.2006 "International Stamp Exhibition "BELGICA '06" - Belgium: Australopithecus afarensis" [2] 20.07.2007 "Fossils of Korea" 15.04.2009 "The 97th Anniversary of the Birth of Kim Il Sung, 1912-1994" [3]
Australopithecus afarensis on stamps of North Korea 2006 Fossils on stamps of North Korea 2007 Fish fossil on the 97th Anniversary of the Birth of Kim Il Sung stamps of North Korea 2009
16.06.2010 "Dinosaurs" 02.10.2010 "Europhila 2010" (overprint) 05.09.2011 "Dinosaurs"
prehistoric animals and dinosaurs on stamps of North Korea 2010 prehistoric animals and dinosaurs on stamps of North Korea 2010 prehistoric animals and dinosaurs on stamps of North Korea 2011
10.11.2013 "Korean Fossils" 17.08.2017 "Natural History Museum" 11.05.2018 "Changzhou 2018 18th all-China Philatelic Exhibit"
Fossils on stamps of North Korea 2013 Dinosaurs on stamps of North Korea 2017 Dinosaurs on stamps of North Korea 2018
12.11.2020 "Natural History Museum"
Dinosaurs, prehistoric animals and Natural History Museum on stamps of North Korea 2020

Notes:
* Many of the stamps above are available in both perforate and imperforate variants, as well as booklets, aerograms and other philatelic souvenirs.
Fish fossil on the 97th Anniversary of the Birth of Kim Il Sung stamps of North Korea 2009
Fish fossil on the 97th Anniversary of the Birth of Kim Il Sung stamps of North Korea 2009 MiNr.: 5418, Scott:

[1] Issued in sheets of 6 x 6 stamps, this set is available in both vertical and horizontal strips.

[2] "International Stamp Exhibition "BELGICA '06" - Belgium" contain 10 stamps of the common topic: famous personalities, modern fauna, transportation, sport.
The stamp of prehistoric man issued in two mini sheets with 6 stamps each, with dinosaurs on the margin at top-left corner. The title of the mini sheets is "Prehistory and Minerals".

[3] Fish fossil is shown on stamp with face value of 12.

[4] Part of big set (15 Sheets with 60 stamps in total) of "Animals".




Other stamps to consider: prehistoric animals on margin of blocks and mini sheets of Paleontology unrelated stamps


28.06.1992 "Birds of Korea" [A1] 25.02.1993 "Fishes" [A2] 01.11.1996 "History of Earth" [A3]
Archaeopteryx on sheet margin of stamps North Korea 1992 Ammonite on sheet margin of stamps North Korea 1993 Primitive life on sheet margin of stamps North Korea 1996
06.01.2005 "Fauna" joint issue with Russia" [A4]
Dinosaurs on sheet margin of stamps North Korea 1996

Notes:
[A1] Archaeopteryx is depicted on sheet margin.

[A2] Ammonite is depicted on sheet margin next to stamp with face value of 40.

[A3] Scenes of the history of the Earth are shown in the top margin, including primitive life in the middle panel.

[A4] Some dinosaurs depicted on margin of the booklet stamps.



Postal stationeries related to Paleontology and Paleoanthropology: fossils, prehistoric animals


2002 20.05.2004 "Fossils of Korea" 20.07.2007 "Fossils of Korea"
Fish fossil on aerogramme of North Korea 2002 Shell fossil on aerogramme of North Korea 2004 Fossils on postal stationery of North Korea 2007
16.06.2010 "Dinosaurs" 05.09.2011 "Dinosaurs"
Dinosaurs on postal stationery of North Korea 2007 Dinosaurs on postal stationery of North Korea 2011 Dinosaurs on aerogramme of North Korea 2011
10.11.2013"Fossils"
Fossil on postal stationery of North Korea 2013 Fossil on postal stationery of North Korea 2013 Shell fossil on aerogramme of North Korea 2013



Commemorative postmarks of North Korea related to Paleontology and Paleoanthropology: fossils, prehistoric animals, plants and humans, Charles Darwin


Legend is here

21.02.1990 "Human Evolution" [FDC] 21.05.1991 "Fauna of the Mesozoic" [1] [FDC] 10.08.1994 "Korean Archaeopteryx" [FDC]
Prehitoric man on postmark of North Korea 1990 Dinosaur on postmark of North Korea 1991 Archaeopterayx on postmark of North Korea 1994
15.05.1995 "Fossils of Korea" [FDC] 20.05.1999"190th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birthday" [FDC] 05.03.2000"Aminals of the Mesozoic" [FDC]
Plant fossil on postmark of North Korea 1995 Charles Darwin on postmark of North Korea 1991 Dinosaur on postmark of North Korea 2000
13.04.2006 "International Stamp Exhibition "BELGICA '06" - Belgium: Australopithecus afarensis" [2] [FDC] 16.06.2010 "Dinosaurs" [FDC] 05.09.2011 "Dinosaurs" [FDC]
Prehistoric man on postmark of North Korea 2006 Dinosaur on postmark of North Korea 2000 Dinosaur on postmark of North Korea 2011
10.11.2013"Fossils" [FDC]
Plant fossil on postmark of North Korea 2013



References


Acknowledgements



Many thanks to Dr. Peter Voice from Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Western Michigan University, for reviewing the draft page and his valuable comments.



Last update 11.08.2021