Korea North (DPRK)
Dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals, Charles Darwin on stamps and postmarks of Korea North
Contents:
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.
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Dinosaur stamp 2017 on circulated cover of North Korea
MiNr.: 6408, Scott:
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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.
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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, Click to enlarge Paleolithic and Neolithic mans on Human Evolution on stamps of North Korea 1990](../images/preview/stamps/t_korea_north_1990.jpg) |
![prehistoric animals and dinosaurs on Fauna of Mesozoic stamps of North Korea 1991, Click to enlarge prehistoric animals and dinosaurs on Fauna of Mesozoic stamps of North Korea 1991](../images/preview/stamps/t_korea_north_1991.jpg) |
![stone and bronze age scenes on Human Evolution on stamps of North Korea 1992, Click to enlarge stone and bronze age scenes on Human Evolution on stamps of North Korea 1992](../images/preview/stamps/t_korea_north_1992.jpg) |
10.08.1994 "Fossils of Korea" |
15.05.1995 "Fossils of Korea" |
05.07.1997 "Fossils: trilobites" |
![Fossils on stamps of North Korea 1994, Click to enlarge Fossils on stamps of North Korea 1994](../images/preview/stamps/t_korea_north_1994.jpg) |
![Fossils on stamps of North Korea 1995, Click to enlarge Fossils on stamps of North Korea 1995](../images/preview/stamps/t_korea_north_1995.jpg) |
![Fossils on stamps of North Korea 1997, Click to enlarge Fossils on stamps of North Korea 1997](../images/preview/stamps/t_korea_north_1997.jpg) |
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, Click to enlarge stone tools and hominids on Korean Central History Museum stamps of North Korea 1998](../images/preview/stamps/t_korea_north_1998.jpg) |
![Charles Darwin on stamps of North Korea 1999, Click to enlarge Charles Darwin on stamps of North Korea 1999](../images/preview/stamps/t_korea_north_1999_darwin.jpg) |
![Dinosaurs on stamps of North Korea 2000, Click to enlarge Dinosaurs on stamps of North Korea 2000](../images/preview/stamps/t_korea_north_2000.jpg) |
05.03.2000 "Animals of the Mesozoic" |
06.10.2000 "Espana 2000" (overprint) |
20.05.2004 "Fossils of Korea" |
![Click to enlarge prehistoric animals and dinosaurs of Mesozoic on stamps of North Korea 2000](../images/preview/stamps/t_korea_north_2000_2.jpg) |
![prehistoric animals and dinosaurs of Mesozoic on overprinted stamps of North Korea 2000, Click to enlarge prehistoric animals and dinosaurs of Mesozoic on overprinted stamps of North Korea 2000](../images/preview/stamps/t_korea_north_2000_3.jpg) |
![Fossils on stamps of North Korea 2004, Click to enlarge Fossils on stamps of North Korea 2004](../images/preview/stamps/t_korea_north_2004.jpg) |
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, Click to enlarge Australopithecus afarensis on stamps of North Korea 2006](../images/preview/stamps/t_korea_north_2006.jpg) |
![Fossils on stamps of North Korea 2007, Click to enlarge Fossils on stamps of North Korea 2007](../images/preview/stamps/t_korea_north_2007.jpg) |
![Fish fossil on the 97th Anniversary of the Birth of Kim Il Sung stamps of North Korea 2009, Click to enlarge Fish fossil on the 97th Anniversary of the Birth of Kim Il Sung stamps of North Korea 2009](../images/preview/stamps/t_korea_north_2009.jpg) |
16.06.2010 "Dinosaurs" |
02.10.2010 "Europhila 2010" (overprint) |
05.09.2011 "Dinosaurs" |
![prehistoric animals and dinosaurs on stamps of North Korea 2010, Click to enlarge prehistoric animals and dinosaurs on stamps of North Korea 2010](../images/preview/stamps/t_korea_north_2010.jpg) |
![prehistoric animals and dinosaurs on stamps of North Korea 2010, Click to enlarge prehistoric animals and dinosaurs on stamps of North Korea 2010](../images/preview/stamps/t_korea_north_2010_2.jpg) |
![prehistoric animals and dinosaurs on stamps of North Korea 2011, Click to enlarge prehistoric animals and dinosaurs on stamps of North Korea 2011](../images/preview/stamps/t_korea_north_2011.jpg) |
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 Fossils on stamps of North Korea 2013](../images/preview/stamps/t_korea_north_2013.jpg) |
![Dinosaurs on stamps of North Korea 2017, Click to enlarge Dinosaurs on stamps of North Korea 2017](../images/preview/stamps/t_korea_north_2017.jpg) |
![Dinosaurs on stamps of North Korea 2018, Click to enlarge Dinosaurs on stamps of North Korea 2018](../images/preview/stamps/t_korea_north_2018.jpg) |
12.11.2020 "Natural History Museum" |
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![Dinosaurs, prehistoric animals and Natural History Museum on stamps of North Korea 2020 Dinosaurs, prehistoric animals and Natural History Museum on stamps of North Korea 2020](../images/preview/stamps/t_korea_north_2020.jpg) |
![Michel stamps catalog - Dinosaurs world wide Michel stamps catalog - Dinosaurs world wide](../images/ads/michel/dino1/michel_Dinos_compressed_preview.jpg) |
Notes:
* Many of the stamps above are available in both perforate and imperforate variants,
as well as booklets, aerograms and other philatelic souvenirs.
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Fish fossil on the 97th Anniversary of the Birth of Kim Il Sung stamps of North Korea 2009
MiNr.: 5418, Scott:
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[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
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
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 Prehitoric man on postmark of North Korea 1990](../images/preview/pm/t_korea_north_1990_pm_fdc.jpg) |
![Dinosaur on postmark of North Korea 1991 Dinosaur on postmark of North Korea 1991](../images/preview/pm/t_korea_north_1991_pm2_fdc.jpg) |
![Archaeopterayx on postmark of North Korea 1994 Archaeopterayx on postmark of North Korea 1994](../images/preview/pm/t_korea_north_1994_pm_fdc.jpg) |
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 Plant fossil on postmark of North Korea 1995](../images/preview/pm/t_korea_north_1995_pm_fdc.jpg) |
![Charles Darwin on postmark of North Korea 1991 Charles Darwin on postmark of North Korea 1991](../images/preview/pm/t_korea_north_1991_pm_fdc.jpg) |
![Dinosaur on postmark of North Korea 2000 Dinosaur on postmark of North Korea 2000](../images/preview/pm/t_korea_north_2000_pm_fdc.jpg) |
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 Prehistoric man on postmark of North Korea 2006](../images/preview/pm/t_korea_north_2006_pm_fdc.jpg) |
![Dinosaur on postmark of North Korea 2000 Dinosaur on postmark of North Korea 2000](../images/preview/pm/t_korea_north_2010_pm_fdc.jpg) |
![Dinosaur on postmark of North Korea 2011 Dinosaur on postmark of North Korea 2011](../images/preview/pm/t_korea_north_2011_pm_fdc.jpg) |
10.11.2013"Fossils" [FDC] |
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![Plant fossil on postmark of North Korea 2013 Plant fossil on postmark of North Korea 2013](../images/preview/pm/t_korea_north_2013_pm_fdc.jpg) |
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References:
Acknowledgements:
Many thanks to Dr.
Peter Voice from Department of Geological and Environmental Sciences, Western Michigan University,
for the draft page review and his valuable comments.