10000 KPW

Security features: microprint,intaglio,latent_image

This 10,000 won note belongs to the Third Won series issued in 2002–2009, bearing the printed date 주체 92 (2003) — Juche year 92, corresponding to 2003 CE in the North Korean calendar system based on Kim Il-sung's birth year 1912. This series was part of a major currency reform that redenominated the won, replacing the Second Won at a rate of 1:1. The Third Won suffered severe hyperinflation during this period, and these high-denomination notes became necessary for everyday transactions. The currency was abruptly withdrawn in a dramatic revaluation on November 30, 2009, when the Fourth Won replaced it at a rate of 100:1, with exchange limits that wiped out private savings and caused significant economic hardship. The Ryugyong Hotel depicted on the front remained a hollow concrete shell for years and became known as 'the worst building in the history of mankind'; exterior work resumed in 2008 but the building remains largely unused. The serial number format 'ㅍㄷ 109046' uses Korean consonants as prefix indicators.