This October, North Korea released a set of three stamps featuring three generations of North Korean leaders, including the nation’s founder Kim Il Sung, former leader Kim Jong Il and current leader Kim Jong Un.
Issued by the Korean Stamp Corporation, the stamps commemorate the 70th anniversary of the founding of Mangyongdae Revolutionary School, which originally housed and educated children of fallen soldiers. In more recent years, according to an Associated Press report, the school—located in the capital of Pyongyang—has offered extensive education with a strong military emphasis. Many pupils are expected to follow a military career path.
A stamp featuring North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was issued to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Mangyongdae Revolutionary School. (Photo by Korean Central News Agency)
THREE STAMPS
One of the sheets depicts the statues of President Kim Il Sung and leader Kim Jong Il at Mangyongdae Revolutionary School.
Another sheet depicting a photo of respected Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, who’s the grandson and son of the two late leaders, among students of Mangyongdae Revolutionary School.
A sheetlet reflects the pledge of vanguard fighters of the Korean revolution.
The Korean Stamp Corporation has been a member of the Fédération Internationale de Philatélie (FIP) since 1965. It produces stamps for domestic use as well as for philatelists and collectors around the world. Its headquarters is located near one of Pyongyang’s most popular hotels.The stamps join a catalogue of sought-after issues, which date back to 1946 and are popular for their rarity as well as their design. According to Monuments Writ Small: Postage Stamps, Philatelic Iconography, and the Commercialization of State Sovereignty in North Korea by Ross King, North Korea has outproduced South Korea in regards to stamp production since the 1970s.
A sheetlet reflects the pledge of vanguard fighters of the Korean revolution. (Photo by Korean Central News Agency)
In fact, philately is so prominent in North Korea that there’s an entire museum dedicated to the hobby in Pyongyang.
‘FATTY MONSTER U.S. IMPERIALISTS’
This August, Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency issued a statement calling on the world to fight “the fatty monster U.S. imperialists” and calling the U.S. “a paper tiger easy to be crushed and set on fire.”
A set of four stamps commemorating the nation’s July nuclear missile tests was also issued by North Korea this August.
Earlier in the year, as part of its “Struggle Against U.S. Imperialism Month,” North Korea released another two stamps with strong anti-U.S sentiments.