Cancel Culture: The 100-Won Coin's Image is to be Redone

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South Korea issued the 100-Won coin in 1970, when it replaced a banknote of the same denomination. This First Series 100-Won was minted from 1970-1982. The image on its obverse was that of Admiral Yi Sun-shin (April 28, 1545 – December 16, 1598), the winner of many naval victories against the invading Japanese during the "Imjin War" of 1592-1598. He was killed in one of the final battles. The image of Admiral Yi was based on a design created by the Korean Mint's design team. Two Korean Mint designers are cited in the literature: Kang Bak and Park Kang-jeong.
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The First Series (top) and Second Series (bottom). The Second Series coin's image of Admiral Yi is based on Jang's official state portrait. (click image to view larger version)


In 1983, the Korean government redesigned the currency and coins in circulation to standardize their appearances and sizes to make them more adaptable to changes in money-handling automation (ATMs, cash registers).

This caused a re-configuration of the 100-Won's main device featuring Admiral Yi. The designers of this new "Second Series" coin, Lee Ye-soo and Park Chang-sik, based their design on the official state portrait painted by Jang Woo-Seong in 1953. This painting is more than a painting, and is referred to in Korean as a "yeong-jeong." A "yeong-jeong" is actually considered the "personage" of the individual painted, so it's sort of an icon, I guess, not just a painting.

Artist Jang Woo-seong's "yeong-jeong" of Admiral Yi
(click image to view larger version)
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The image of Admiral Yi on the 100-Won coin will now be redesigned because, according to Korean Media, Jang Woo-seong was listed in the 친일인명사전 (Pro-Japanese Dictionary) in 2009 for submitting art at two art exhibitions in the 1940s. Of course, Japan was in charge at the time. In 2009, the government did not take action against Jang's work(s).

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Some examples of Jang's amazing work. The painting on the right depicts the famous anti-Japanese activist, Ryu Gwansun (aka Yu Kwan-sun) who died under torture in 1920. ​

Now that the Ministry of Culture is staffed by the people brought in by South Korea's current left-wing president, Moon Jae-in, they are going to "de-list" the artist Jang Woo-seong's icon-painting ("yeong-jeong") of Admiral Yi.

The entire charge against the artist, Jang, from what I have gotten by looking and looking over Korean media reports, is that he is accused of exhibiting art during the era of "Japanese Korea (1905-ish to 1945)." Exhibiting at major exhibitions was (and I think STILL is) the ONLY way for a painter to develop his/her career.

I guess President Moon's people of 2020 expect him to have known better than to have done that back in 1943(?).

Jang Woo-seong (월전 장우성)
June 22, 1912 ~ February 28, 2005​

That is literally the reason why his painting is getting canceled and now the 100-Won coin is getting reworked. Not just the 100-Won. Also the 50,000-Won, 10,000-Won, and 5,000-Won banknotes. Changing the banknotes alone will cost around 422M USD of the taxpayers' money. The notes are changing for the same reasons: The portrait artists whose images were used to place famous Koreans on these notes had also developed their careers when Japan ran Korea.

These artists did not swear oaths to the Japanese Emperor, served in the Japanese military (at least, not voluntarily), nor do anything that other Koreans clearly had done that showed outright support for Japan. Not from what I have found, anyway.

In other words, from what I can gather, these artists are essentially guilty of being alive at the wrong time. This is why their artwork is being removed from South Korea's currency and the 100-Won coin.

If I am wrong about any of this, I will happily take correction. Please comment below.

 

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I’m not understanding why this is “cancel culture” - why isn’t it just a change?

Coin designs change. It’s not always a conspiratorial reason that drives this.

 

it's a revisionist history, where some parts are erased in the name of "social change"
this is a growing trend in the west but I am surprised to see it in the east as well.

 

and yes, this revisionism does seem come from the left historically.

 

Why does it have to be framed as conspiracy of cancel culture and revisionist history? Why isn’t it just a change in the coin design.

They are not rewriting textbooks used for teaching history here. They are changing a coin design. Let’s keep some perspective.

 

Yes, but when certain figures are intentionally erased it is the prelude. I understand your point though. The cancel culture and revisionism is what I see as a recent high school grad and college student. Perhaps my experiences differ from yours but I understand and respect it.

 

If they were gathering up all historically circulating coins with these images, removing them from circulation, and melting them down, that is a revisionist policy. Changing a design is not an inherently negative thing.

 

No conspiracy was implied. Just a bad idea, in my opinion.

The artist (and his work) got "canceled" by officialdom just for being alive at a certain time. He's no longer "acceptable."

The coin is just "changed," true.

But the "change" is based on the original artist being "canceled."

Also, this artist's entire REPUTATION is getting destroyed (officially), even without looking at the entirety of his career and body of work. I'd say that is a flavor of (unfair) revisionism.

As for the COIN, it circulated for 40 years, they knew about his exhibiting art in the early 1940s all during that time (and he did NOT commit any crimes, btw!), and only NOW is it a problem.

It is sad, but Jang is dead now, so the only people upset are his family. I think he was a very talented artist who doesn't deserve to be "downgraded," at least not for the reasons stated. And it's a waste of money, unless the 100-Won needed to be updated for another reason, which I don't think it did. All coins are still (officially) supposed to go away to be replaced by credits added to your USIM card on your smartphone.

If this is what people in Korea want, more power to them. I just think it's unfair to Jang's legacy.

 

Textbook changes have happened in South Korea based on certain, um, "narratives," too. I've heard the Ministry of Education was thinking it was a good idea to point out the benefits of 공산주의 (communism).

So there's that.

 

I understand that sequestering the Second Series coins over time and melting them down is part of this, actually.

Well, that's in the works... Whatever is "planned" often doesn't always come to fruition, though. Especially for a coin of which there are 1 trillion KRW worth in circulation(!)

 

People occasionally confuse these with Japanese Yen and will list them as such.

Significant differences in value. I can't read Asian characters either but I know when I'm holding a Korean coin.

 

I still don’t think this is as nefarious as you seem to imply. Are you implying that these older coin designs should be carried forward for all of eternity?

Coin designs change. Sometimes for political reasons, sometimes for other reasons. I don’t see how this is a big deal.

 

Okay. It's not a big deal to you. You have made your statement, and I have read it. Thank you.

While you may not think so, this is a big news story in Korea. And it's about coins, so I posted this information at this coin forum. So, I have a point of view about this story. So what? And one that is *gasp!* different from yours! Is that a problem for you?

Older coin designs will not stay forever(!) Coin designs change.

The design changes are not nefarious. Just based on an unfair analysis. The design changes to the notes and 100-Won coin WILL take place. I am inserting my opinion that this is just decision-making based SOLELY on a poor examination of the artists' career (an overemphasis on one or two years of their lives in which they didn't do anything wrong, anyway) and not on the lifework of the artist(s) ..or on anything else, for that matter.

Perhaps if you can just imagine that the title of this thread did not have the words "Cancel Culture" in it, I think you'd might feel better about this thread, perhaps?

There is also the fact that another (right wing) government might just come in after President Moon is out and "re-instate" Jang and his official portrait. Then what was spending the money to change the design all about, especially if the coin isn't going to be around much longer with South Korea's "Coinless 2020 Plan?"

Like I said before, if most people support these plans in Korea (South Korea is a representative government), then more power to them. But I still think that the throwing shade on Jang for no reason (the destruction of his reputation) is not necessary and is highly unfair. I think a poster above noted that it might open the door to other "revisions" of other people in Korean history, and by using equally spurious reasoning. How would THAT be good?

 

Koreans and Japanese love to snipe at each other to the point of ridiculousness! This design in LA caused a furor in the Korean community.

 

Yeah, not EVERY image that has stylized run rays like this is tantamount to the Japanese kaigunki (the "rising sun" Naval Flag). Just my opinion...

 

I was just waiting for them to complain to the LA Times that the periods at the ends of sentences reminded them of the flag...

 

Yeah, some of this "seeing offense" where there is none should NEVER be entertained or given credence. That's also why I don't like the attack on Jang Woo-seong. Where's the offense?

Like a poster said above, if the Korean government wants to change designs, fine, that happens. That's very true. However, previous Korean government changes to their currency based on "politics" were in response to an OVERWHELMING attack on the currency designs by the PUBLIC, not just a partisan government policy based on an artist's non-existent past offense.

Syngman Rhee's image (1st President) was removed from the currency in 1961 because of public unpopularity. The removals were NOT initiated by the government, which did not want to waste the money, but leaders of the new government were forced into bending to popular will. Then there was a proposed 10,000-Won banknote in 1972 which featured a famous Buddha statue in Korea. That design was likewise reversed also due to loud protests by protestant congregations and by quieter opposition from Buddhist sects in the country.

No changes to the South Korean currency have ever been reversed by a follow-on government. The changes always stuck, as the planners seemed to consider things much more carefully than in the current case with the current proposed changes to the 100-Won, 5,000-Won, 10,000-Won and 50,000-Won.

This decision bring with it the real possibility that a follow-on right wing government will just reverse it, or "redesign the redesign" in tit-for-tat partisan fashion.

My point is this: This really is DIFFERENT from previous Korean design considerations and is not befitting the more measured and reasonable approach of earlier governments.

 

https://www.bankrate.com/banking/on...oups have noted the significance of that year.

 

When will the 2021 coins be released for circulation? Will they redesign the 100 won coin for 2021 or will it be 2022?

 

The circulation coins have been showing up later and later in the year for a couple of years now. Perhaps the urgency to get tons of coins into circulation is ebbing with increasing electronic payments in the economy.

The new 100-Won design will not be available for 2 to 3 years from now. That's how long the entire minting process takes at the South Korean Mint (KOMSCO), from choosing the new image of Admiral Yi all the way to striking and issuing the coins.

Not even sure if these will end up in circulation. Certainly it sounds like they will mint coins for sets, though.

Here's the 2020 Mint set:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/KOREA-2020...545360?hash=item264cb2d410:g:gkoAAOSwE~Rfpc6w

Proof set:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/KOREA-2020...537082?hash=item264cb2b3ba:g:dmUAAOSwcpJe6BlG