Seungjeongwon Ilgi and Baegunhwasang Chorokbuljo Jikjisimcheyojeol, on stamp

This year’s IFLA conference took us to Seoul and of course I put my eye on the stamps within my reach. I could not find any bibliophilatelic material but at least two specimen which represent scriptophilatelic resp. typophilatelic content. So I want to share them here.

Both were issued december 9 2005 and titled “Registration of Korean Cultural Treasures as Parts of the World Heritages”. The upper one shows the Seungjeongwon Ilgi, the Diaries of the Royal Secretariat (the UNESCO has a little more on this one, better background information can be found at this page)

The second stamp refers to the Baegunhwasang Chorokbuljo Jikjisimcheyojeol (Jikji), a book written by the Buddhist monk Baegunhwasang in 1372. Its second volume is said to be the world’s first printed with movable metal type (in 1377). In is part of UNESCO’s Memory of the World as well. (more on the Jikji can be found here) 

The overall quanitity of the stamps is specified by 850 000 pieces. The design was made by Kim Sojeong, the engraving came by Shin Incheol. The 310 Won postage stamps count as number 2470 and 2471 (Korea Post) and are unfortunately not as single items available at the post office’s counter – except you are lucky and find some oddments. They can be however purchased as part of the 2005 yearpack which costs about 20.000 Won (EURO 18) that is sold by most branch offices in Seoul.