10000 KPW #391

Front

The Ryugyong Hotel in Pyongyang, a 105-story pyramid-shaped skyscraper construction project begun in 1987. The hotel was intended as a symbol of North Korean progress and modernity but remained unfinished for decades. The note also depicts industrial and agricultural scenes representing socialist economic development, including factory buildings and construction cranes, symbolizing the state's emphasis on heavy industry and collective farming under the Juche ideology.

Back

Magnolia flowers (Magnolia sieboldii), the national flower of North Korea, depicted in detailed engraving. The magnolia symbolizes purity, nobility, and perseverance in Korean culture and has been associated with the Korean peninsula for centuries. The note features the state emblem of North Korea at center top, showing the hydroelectric dam, Mount Paektu, and a red star, representing the revolutionary struggle and socialist construction.

History

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 The currency was abruptly withdrawn in a dramatic revaluation on November 30, 2009, when the Fourth Won replaced it at a rate of 100:1, with exchange limits that wiped out private savings and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.