A Study Of Korean Bank Notes In Northeast China(1912-1931)

North Korean banknotes,also known as "Choson notes" or "gold notes," and colloquially referred to as "old man notes," were a type of non-redeemable paper currency based on the gold standard.These banknotes had eight denominations and multiple versions.They were similar to the Japanese yen banknotes,but the North Korean banknotes could not be used in Japan.The North Korean banknotes started circulating in Dandong in 1909,and it is estimated that their circulation in the northeast region increased by more than one and a half times in the seven years leading up to 1915.After that,due to the increasing status of the North Korean bank,its circulation increased year by year,and in the following decade,it more than doubled.As the currency with the largest circulation and issuance in the northeast region,the North Korean banknotes accounted for one-sixth of the total issuance of all Chinese financial institutions in the northeast region before the outbreak of the September 18 Incident.This article analyzes the development process of North Korean banknotes and divides it into three stages: the first stage,a period of rapid expansion,mainly due to the monopoly of the gold standard currency issuance and the influence of factors such as Japan’s invasion of Siberia,which led the North Korean banknotes to control not only the South Manchuria Railway but also the entire northern Manchuria region.The second stage was a period of stagnation and decline.Due to the impact of the gold standard crisis,the North Korean banknotes faced strong resistance in the northeast region.Later,due to the deteriorating domestic environment in Japan and its own debt crisis,the North Korean banknotes stagnated and declined.The third stage was a period of recovery and development.In the series of events such as the Zhili-Fengtian War and the Guo Songling rebellion,North Korean banknotes expanded to the entire northeast region and even the entire country.Furthermore,the article analyzes the reasons why North Korean banknotes were widely distributed in the northeast region in the mid-1920 s,mainly including the influence of the rise in international gold prices and the fall in silver prices and a series of measures taken by the Beiyang government that led to a crisis in the local currency.The fourth part analyzes the impact of North Korean banknotes on the northeast region from the perspectives of commerce,trade,and finance.The fifth part is the conclusion.