North Korea - 5000 Won 2017 Commemorative Kim Jong-Suk

조선민주주의인민공화국

Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

This is a commemorative collector note of 5000 won issued in 2017 commemorating the 100th Birthday Anniversary of the late Kim Jong-Suk (김정숙/金正淑) who died in 1949. Kim Jong-Suk was the first wife of Kim Il-Sung (1912-1994) who ruled North Korea from 1948 to until his death in 1994. Based on this new issue, it would have suggested that Kim Jong-Suk was born in circa 1917. However various searches on the Internet have suggested that she may have been born in 1919. Most people would have agreed that she died when she was in her late 20s, however the circumstances as to how she died was not clear.

Is this a collector series note printed with 7 zeros but without the usual words "견본" (sample/specimen) printed across? It is not clear if any normal serial numbered notes have been issued for circulation. More importantly, are these notes legit or just a novelty printed for whatever celebration they wanted it to be? If this is the case, who printed them? There must be a simple explanation why these notes are all printed with zeros. The design of this note is the same as the one that first issued in 2014 (P67 dated 2013) except that the following commemorative texts are printed on the watermark area - 항일의녀성영웅김정숙동지탄생100돐기념 (basically translated as; The heroine of anti-Japanese, heroine Kim Jong-Suk's 100th birthday).

Five Thousand Won

Dated 2013 (2017), ㄱㄷ Prefix

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Five Thousand Won

Dated 2013 (2017), ㄱㅌ Prefix

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