Korea (South) 1948 – Kyongju
Observatory
The 7th-century celestial observation tower
at Kyongju (now Gyeongju), first shown on a Korean stamp in 1946, turned up again on one of the first stamps to
be issued after South Korea became an independent republic in
1948. The star background looks as though it is intended to
represent Ursa Minor, the little bear. The stone tower is
regarded by Koreans as one of their great cultural treasures,
and in fact the whole area of Gyeongju, which is dotted with
architectural remains of all kinds, was declared a World
Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2000. There was also a light blue
version of this stamp, SG number 109b but not listed in the
Gibbons Simplified Catalogue. A surcharged version was issued
in 1951, overprinted with the value “300 w”; it is
SG 149 (SG 149b for the light-blue version).
Kyongju Observatory makes its third and
final appearance in our list of oldest astro stamps on a South
Korean issue from 1956.
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