South Korean won (KRW)

The won (원), (₩), (KRW) is the official currency of South Korea. A single won is sub divided into 100 jeon. However, he jeon is no longer used in daily transactions, and is seen only in the use of foreign exchange rates.

The word "Won" is a combination of the Chinese word "yuan" and the Japanese word "yen". The words, yen, yaun and won all stem from the Chinese character 圓, which literally means "round shape". The word jeon is also a word of Chinese origin which means "money". The word jeon refers to the ancient bronze and copper coins that were used in China.

Coins

South Korean coins are circulated in denominations of ₩ 1, ₩ 5, ₩ 10, ₩ 50, ₩ 100, and ₩ 500. The coins are comprised of bronze, brass, cupronickel and aluminum. The following information denotes the size and composition of each coin:

• ₩ 1: Brass or Aluminum – 17.2 millimetres
• ₩ 5: Commercial Bronze or Brass – 20.4 millimetres
• ₩ 10: Commercial bronze or High Brass – 22.86 millimetres
• ₩ 50: Copper/ Zinc/ Nickel – 21.6 millimetres
• ₩ 100: Cupronickel – 24 millimetres
• ₩ 500: Cupronickel – 26.5 millimetres

Banknotes

South Korean Banknotes are distributed in denominations of ₩ 1, ₩ 5, ₩ 10, ₩ 50, ₩ 100, ₩ 500, ₩ 1000, ₩ 5000, ₩ 10000, and ₩ 50000. The banknotes are colour-coded as follows:

• ₩ 1: Pink
• ₩ 5: Blue
• ₩ 10: Green
• ₩ 50: Orange
• ₩ 100: Green
• ₩ 500: Grey
• ₩ 1000: Purple
• ₩ 5000: Orange
• ₩ 10000: Green
• ₩ 50000: Orange/ Yellow

The ₩ 1 and ₩ 5 notes are rarely seen, and the most commonly used notes are the ₩ 50, ₩ 100, and ₩ 500 won notes.

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KRW Exchange Rates

Below are a selection of currency exchange rates for the South Korean won (KRW) converted to other world currencies. These rates show what ₩1 would convert to in the foreign currency. You can view more information on the other currencies by clicking on the three-letter currency code.

Exchange rates updated: Jul 29, 2010 (CET)

	USD ($)	EUR (€)	GBP (£)	JPY (¥)	AUD (A$)	CAD (C$)	CHF (CHF)	HKD (HK$)	SGD (S$)	MXN (Mex$)	CNY (元)	RUB (руб)	NOK (kr)
₩ 1 =	0.0008	0.0006	0.0005	0.0733	0.0009	0.0009	0.0009	0.0065	0.0011	0.0107	0.0057	0.0254	0.0051
Inverse	1186.5024	1550.6400	1853.2807	13.6452	1069.4069	1148.2820	1135.1684	152.7754	871.1461	93.6501	175.1008	39.3051	194.5474

KRW Charts

View charts of the South Korean won (KRW) compared to other world currencies. Charts are updated with the latest currency exchange rate information and allow you view the currency exchange rates over a range of time periods.

KRW vs. USD	KRW vs. EUR	KRW vs. GBP	KRW vs. JPY
More KRW vs. USD Charts	More KRW vs. EUR Charts	More KRW vs. GBP Charts	More KRW vs. JPY Charts