The South Korean won (KRW) circulates as four banknotes — 1,000, 5,000, 10,000 and 50,000 won — and four coins: 10, 50, 100 and 500 won. The Bank of Korea issues all of them. The 10,000 won note is the one you will handle most, and the 50,000 won note is the highest denomination in everyday use. Below is a full breakdown of each note and coin, the figures pictured on them, and roughly what they are worth in US dollars.
All four current notes belong to the series the Bank of Korea has issued since 2006–2009. Each has a distinct dominant colour and an historical figure, which makes them easy to tell apart even at a glance. The figures shown are illustrative; check the live KRW to USD converter for the current value.
| Denomination | Colour | Figure | Approx. USD (indicative) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₩1,000 | Blue | Yi Hwang (Toegye), Confucian scholar | $0.65 |
| ₩5,000 | Orange / red | Yi I (Yulgok), Confucian scholar | $3.27 |
| ₩10,000 | Green | King Sejong the Great | $6.53 |
| ₩50,000 | Yellow | Shin Saimdang, artist and scholar | $32.65 |
The ₩1,000 note (blue) shows Yi Hwang, known by his pen name Toegye, one of Korea's most influential Confucian philosophers. The ₩5,000 note (orange-red) depicts Yi I, or Yulgok, another towering Confucian thinker — and the mother on the ₩50,000 note, Shin Saimdang, was in fact his actual mother, a neat link between two denominations. The ₩10,000 note (green) carries King Sejong the Great, the 15th-century monarch who commissioned Hangul, the Korean alphabet; this is the workhorse note of daily life. The ₩50,000 note (yellow) features Shin Saimdang, a celebrated 16th-century painter, calligrapher and poet who, when the note launched in 2009, became the first woman to appear on a South Korean banknote.
Four coins remain in active circulation. The smaller ones tend to accumulate in pockets and change trays, while the 100 and 500 won coins do most of the real work for vending machines, transport top-ups and small purchases.
| Denomination | Design | Everyday use |
|---|---|---|
| ₩10 | Dabotap Pagoda (Bulguksa Temple) | Rare; mostly change, often rounded out |
| ₩50 | Rice stalk | Occasional; small change |
| ₩100 | Admiral Yi Sun-sin | Very common; vending, transport, small buys |
| ₩500 | Crane in flight | Very common; highest-value coin |
The ₩100 coin portrays Admiral Yi Sun-sin, the 16th-century naval commander famous for his turtle ships, and is probably the coin you will reach for most. The ₩500 coin shows a red-crowned crane and is the highest-value coin. The old ₩1 and ₩5 coins are technically still legal tender but are no longer minted for circulation and are effectively out of use; prices in shops are rounded to the nearest 10 won, so you will almost never see them.
In day-to-day spending, the ₩10,000 and ₩50,000 notes cover almost everything — a single ₩50,000 note pays for a generous restaurant meal for two, while ₩10,000 handles a casual lunch or a couple of coffees. The ₩1,000 and ₩5,000 notes are useful for street food, snacks and topping up small amounts. Among coins, the ₩100 and ₩500 see constant use; the ₩10 and ₩50 mostly arrive as change you rarely spend. Korea is also heavily cashless, so cards and mobile payments handle a large share of transactions, and you may go days without breaking a high note.
Unlike some currencies that run to very large notes, the won tops out at ₩50,000 — worth only about $33. For larger sums, Koreans rely on debit and credit cards, bank transfers and mobile apps rather than carrying thick stacks of cash. A practical consequence: paying for something expensive in cash, such as a deposit, can mean counting out dozens of ₩50,000 notes, which is one reason electronic transfers dominate for big-ticket payments.
Korean banknotes carry the security elements you would expect on a modern currency: a watermark portrait visible when held to light, a security thread embedded in the paper, colour-shifting ink on the denomination numeral, microprinting and intaglio (raised) printing you can feel with a fingertip. The ₩50,000 note adds a motion-thread feature that shifts as you tilt it. These make casual counterfeiting difficult, and shop terminals and bank machines verify notes automatically.
South Korea has debated higher denominations for years, but the combination of a strongly cashless economy and concerns about untraceable cash hoarding has kept ₩50,000 as the ceiling. Instead of a ₩100,000 note, large legitimate payments move through the banking system. For visitors this rarely matters, since cards are accepted almost everywhere, from taxis to convenience stores.
Today's won replaced an earlier currency in 1962, when the hwan was converted to the won at 10 hwan to 1 won and the Bank of Korea reset the monetary system. The modern banknote series you handle now dates from 2006–2009. For the full story of redenominations, the post-war hwan, and how inflation reshaped the currency, see our dedicated history of the Korean won guide.
To put the notes in context: a subway ride costs roughly ₩1,400–1,500, a convenience-store coffee around ₩1,500–2,500, a simple restaurant meal ₩8,000–12,000, and a mid-range dinner for two ₩30,000–50,000. So a single ₩10,000 note covers a casual meal, and a ₩50,000 note covers a night out — which is exactly why those two notes dominate everyday wallets. Convert any of these amounts to dollars with the live KRW to USD converter.
The ₩50,000 won note is the largest South Korean banknote. It is yellow, features the artist and scholar Shin Saimdang, and was introduced in 2009 as the highest-value note in everyday circulation.
The ₩10,000 won note shows King Sejong the Great, the 15th-century monarch who created the Korean alphabet, Hangul. It is green and is the most commonly used banknote in Korea.
The ₩50,000 won note features Shin Saimdang, a 16th-century artist, calligrapher and poet. She was the first woman to appear on a South Korean banknote when the note was issued in 2009.
Four coins are in everyday use: ₩10, ₩50, ₩100 and ₩500. The ₩100 coin, showing Admiral Yi Sun-sin, and the ₩500 coin, showing a crane, are the most frequently handled. The old ₩1 and ₩5 won coins are effectively out of use.
Not in practice. The ₩1 and ₩5 won coins are technically still legal tender but are no longer minted for circulation and are virtually never seen, since prices are rounded to the nearest 10 won.
At an indicative rate of about 1,531 KRW per USD (22 June 2026), a ₩50,000 won note is worth roughly $32.65. The exact figure changes with the market, so check the live KRW to USD converter before relying on it.