Korea (South) 1946 – Kyongju
Observatory
At Kyongju (now more usually transliterated
as Gyeongju), in southeastern South Korea, lies the oldest
astronomical observatory in the Far East, a 9.4-m-high stone
tower known in Korean as Cheomseongdae
– literally meaning “Tower for star
observation” – built during the reign of Queen
Seondeok in AD 632–647. From its flat top observers kept
watch on the heavens each night, charting the movements of
celestial bodies and recording events such as eclipses and the
appearance of comets or “guest stars” (novae and
supernovae). The observers are thought to have climbed an
external ladder to enter the tower at the window-like opening
partway up and then ascended another ladder inside the tower to
reach the top. Regarded as a national treasure in Korea,
Kyongju Observatory reappears twice more on this list, on
Korean stamps from 1948 and 1956. The 1946 stamp shown here was issued while
South Korea was under US Military government and was the
lowest-value member of a series of five depicting subjects of
nationalistic significance. The paper has browned with age.
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