By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
The Bank of Korea (BOK) announced Monday it has selected Kim Koo, the late president of the interim government in Shanghai during the Japanese colonial rule (1910-1945), and Shin Saimdang, a female artist during the Joseon Kingdom, as models for its new denomination banknotes.
Kim will be featured on the 100,000-won bill ($110) while Shin will be on the 50,000-won banknote, the bank said. The new bills will debut in early 2009.
``Based on public opinion polls and suggestions from experts, we've chosen Kim Koo and Shin Saimdang for the 100,000-won and 50,000-won banknotes,'' BOK Deputy Governor Lee Seung-il said. ``There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the banknote models, but we hope no more will occur.''
Lee said it will take more than one year to complete the designs and introduce anti-forgery methods for the new banknotes, adding the country will be able to see them in early 2009.
Kim was assassinated in 1949, four years after Korea's liberation from Japanese rule, by then-military officer Ahn Doo-hui while leading a public movement for Korea's independence from foreign forces. He had led the BOK's public opinion polls for the models of the new banknotes since surveys began early this year.
Shin is the mother of the renowned Confucian scholar Yi I (1536-1584), who is portrayed on the 5,000-won banknote. On top of being an exemplary mother and wife, she is lauded as a talented female artist representing the Joseon Kingdom. She was good at paining, poetry and calligraphy and left many artworks.
Some progressive women's rights groups opposed Shin as a banknote model, saying she was not an appropriate model for modern women.
``The BOK should have been more careful in selecting figures for the banknote models. Shin is not a good choice,'' said an official from the Korean National Council of Women. ``Shin Saimdang was a typical role model for women under the Confucian patriarchal system, not for modern women.''
The BOK has claimed the country needs 50,000-won and 100,000-won bills to meet growing demand for higher-denominated bills in line with the country's growing economy. Citing concerns about inflation and forgery, the government had opposed the idea, but gave up its objections late last year.
Currently, 10,000 won is the highest denomination of the country's currency in circulation, followed by 5,000 won and 1,000 won notes.