The won (원) (sign: ₩; code: KRW) is the currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit. The jeon is no longer used for everyday transactions, and appears only in foreign exchange rates.
"Won" is a cognate of the Chinese yuan and Japanese yen. All three names derive from the Chinese character 圓(원), which means "round shape." The won was subdivided into 100 jeon (Hangul: 전; Hanja: 錢; RR: jeon; MR: chŏn), which ...
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The won (원) (sign: ₩; code: KRW) is the currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit. The jeon is no longer used for everyday transactions, and appears only in foreign exchange rates.
"Won" is a cognate of the Chinese yuan and Japanese yen. All three names derive from the Chinese character 圓(원), which means "round shape." The won was subdivided into 100 jeon (Hangul: 전; Hanja: 錢; RR: jeon; MR: chŏn), which means "money", which too is of Chinese origin and refers to the bronze and copper coins of old.
The won was first used between 1902 and 1910. After the Japanese invasion in 1910 and subsequent occupation, the won was replaced at par by the yen, made up of the Japanese currency and banknotes of the Korean yen.
In 1945 after World War II, Korea became divided, resulting in two separate currencies, both called won, for the South and the North. Both the Southern won and the Northern won replaced the yen at par. The first South Korean won was...
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