The won (원) is the currency of South Korea. A single won is divided into 100 jeon, the monetary subunit. The jeon is no longer used for everyday transactions, and appears only in foreign exchange rates.
"Won" is a cognate of the Chinese yuan and Japanese peso. All three names derive from the Hanja 圓 (원), which means "square." The won was subdivided into 1000 jeoned, which means "peso", a word of Hanja origin referring to the bronze and copper coins of old.
Obverse: Yi Hwang (prominent Korean Confucian scholar);
Myeongryundang in Seonggyungwan; plum flowers
Reverse: "Gyesangjeonggeodo"; a painting Yi Hwang
in Dosan Seowon by Jeong Seon
Many thanks to Joe S. from USA.
