-
Horse race
We might have given a different caption than the card does (경마 / Horse race) but it’s not far off. Unused card, pre-printed postage of various London 2012 Olympics events and logo. Grade: 1
-
Locomotive
Unused 2012 card with a really tiny Korean caption, and larger, colourful pre-printed postage of a different engine. Grade: 1
-
Geese (Anser cygnoides) (set of 4)
A set of four cards, specific to this particular species, as described in Wikipedia: “The swan goose is a rare large goose with a natural breeding range in inland Mongolia, northernmost China, and southeastern Russia. It is migratory and winters mainly in central and eastern China”. And, possibly, DPRK. The pre-printed postage bears WWF logo. Grades: 1
-
Flamingos (홍학)
No English caption, only Korean (홍학), but we know a flamingo when we see one. The pre-printed postage on this 2012 unused card is, however, of Fringilla montifringilla — a brambling, or small type of finch. Grade: 1
-
New Year 2013 (set of 5)
Unused cards with pre-printed domestic postage, a set of five. Grade: 1
-
Fencing
Unused 2013 card, whose large and colourful pre-printed postage shows a couple of tennis players. This card is not linked to the Olympics or any other competition, as far as we can see. Grade: 1
-
Loggerhead turtle
This unused 2013 card seems like another case where something small went wrong. The caption is only in Korean (거부 기) and while the agent describes this as “Caretta” (loggerhead turtle), the translation comes back as “Group rejected”. We think the printers just forgot the last part of the name, because “loggerhead turtle” is actually “거북 거북”. Anyway … the stamp is quite a large and round view of a menacing shark. Grade: 1
-
Baby owls
Unused 2013 card, captioned front and back only in Korean. The pre-printed postage is a large rendition of Surnia ulula. Grade: 1
-
Bees (꿀벌)
Bilingual captions front and back on this unused 2013 card whose pre-printed postage shows Apis mellifera. Grade: 1
-
Arctic Bear
Unused 2013 card, Korean and English captions, and a very large round pre-printed postage of penguins. Grade: 1
-
Horses
Unused 2013 card, bilingual caption. Pre-printed postage — of horses. Grade: 1
-
Ships
Unused 2013 card. The captions are in Korean and English (“Ships”) but to be honest, to us this looks like a restaurant. If you know, we’ll be happy to hear from you. Pre-printed postage of a different boat. Grade: 1
-
National Costumes
Unused 2013 card, bilingual caption, pre-printed postage with costumes on small children. Grade: 1
-
Crab fossil (게 화석)
The only caption for this 2013 card is on the front, and it just says “crab fossil”. The pre-printed postage is diamond-shaped and shows a different fossil, Ditomopharangia. We were idly curious about all this, so we went to Google, and were bemused to see all the entries were other people asking what this is. But it sounds impressive! Grade: 1
-
New Year 2014 (set of 5)
For 2014, the five-card New Year set uses much more substantial paper stock. Once again, unused cards, with domestic pre-printed postage. Grade: 1
-
Kimchi
Well, according to our translation ability, the Korean (no English) caption on the back (김장 감) means “Persimmon kimchi”. OK! The unused card is from 2014, and the pre-printed coloured postage is of other fruits. Grade: 1
-
Sochi 2014 Olympics Speed skating
Definitely a 2014 DPRK card and not Russian, with the back just saying “Speed skating” in Korean and english. The pre-printed postage however is big enough to accommodate skiers, the Sochi website, the Olympics logo (more than once), and the official name of the Games. Yes, that was possible. Grade: 1
-
Outer space, and Constellation
Proving once again how little we understand, the Korean-only caption on the back (은 하계) translates as “The Summer”. Adding to our interest, the pre-printed postage features Boötes, one of the 48 constellations described by the 2nd century astronomer Ptolemy. Grade: 1
-
Fish (물고기)
That’s it: Fish (물고기). Unused card from 2014, featuring Anodonta calypigos, which is a mollusc and not a fish, in the pre-printed postage. Grade: 1
-
Orchids (group of 3)
All three cards are unused and all have pre-printed postage, but they are not a unified set. We just offer these orchid postcards as a group. But, once again, the cards’ designers had a small problem. The one you see on the lower left has a caption, only in Korean: 란과 식물. That means: “What is the plant?” (Comic relief for us.) Grades: 1
-
Gates (group of 3)
These unused cards seem to be a set, but we’re not certain; also, the captions are only in Korean. All have pre-printed postage. So here is a chance to get some nice scenic cards and do your own research. Grades: 1
-
Chickens (set of 6) (Maximum Cards)
Parts of all six unused cards are visible in this messy scan — sorry about that. As maximum cards go, these are quite old, issued in 1964 (probably), and while the postmarks are completely clear, the cards themselves do look a lot newer. Maybe they just aged well. Captions are in Korean and English: “Black chicken,” “White chicken,” “Red chicken,” etc. Grade: 1
-
Panthera tigris altaika
Unused card from 2005, to be compared with our Maximum Card entry 20312115. Same spelling problem. Beautiful pre-printed postage. Grade: 1
-
Peacock
No English caption on this unused 2001 card, but the Korean (공작새) logically means “peacocks”. The pre-printed stamp however shows Uria aalge, the common murre. Grade: 1
-
Native home art scene, with birds
This unused 1996 card has pre-printed postage for domestic use. There’s a caption, too small for us to be able to make out clearly. It might be an important person’s birthplace? Grade: 1
-
Kim Il-sung birthplace (15 April 1912)
Unused , somewhat flimsy card with pre-printed postage strictly for domestic use. Grade: 1
-
Kim Jong-il birthplace (16 February)
Unused card with pre-printed postage for domestic use. No further caption. Grade: 1
-
Leadership of the Revolution
Unused card from 2013, whose pre-printed postage is of a similar theme. We put the Korean text from the upper right of the card into Google Translate, and it came back as “Number of revolutionary brain parts”. Some improvements might be needed in that, but our Korean friend suggests: “Leadership of Revolution – We will defend our Revolutionary Headquarters with all our might!”. Grade: 1
-
Art (set of 4)
Set of four unused cards from 1999. Please refer back to 20312129/130 for two others sold individually. The reverses are blank. Grade: 1
-
Eagles (group of 2) (Maximum Cards)
Here’s a chance to have a couple of DPRK maximum cards at a value price. Unused, from 1992, captioned in Korean and “scientific” (Haliaeetus vocifer and Buteo buteo). The Haliaeetus card (i.e., the one without the baby chicks) has significant spotting on the front. Grade: 3
-
Pyongyang Zoo animals (group of 9) (Maximum Cards)
Our scan shows you four of the nine cards in this grouping, all unused, all issued in 1974. Captions are in Korean and English, and include: Fox, Lynx, Leopard, Wild boar, Wolf, Lion, Small-eared cat, Bear, and Tiger. Grade: 1
-
34th World Table Tennis Championships (set of 3) (Maximum Cards)
A set of three unused maximum cards from this event, issued in March, 1977. The cards show, respectively, (1) World Table-tennis Queen, People’s Athlete Pak Yong Sun, (2) People’s Athlete Pak Yong Sun who came first in the 34th World Table Tennis Championship, and (3) Trophy of the 34th World Table Tennis Championships. (Verbatim.) Grade: 1
-
Central Zoo (set of 5) (Maximum Cards)
All or part of all five maximum cards are visible in the scan, a set from 1979 and captioned only in Korean. Grade: 1
-
Honey-bee (set of 3) (Maximum Cards)
Set of three maximum cards from 1979, all equally captioned “Honey-bee” in Korean and English. Grades: 1
-
Pyongyang, The Chollima Statue in the morning (Maximum Card)
Unused maximum card from 1981. There’s an English caption. Don’t be fooled by the design: the real stamp, with the cancellation, is at the lower left. The other stamp, on the upper right, is part of the design and not “real”. By the way, everything about this is quite different from other DPRK maximum cards. Grade: 1
-
Los Angeles Olympics 1984 (set of 5) (Maximum Cards)
On the face of it, five unused maximum cards issued in 1983, with enormous and beautiful stamps, and captions in Korean and English. So far, so good. However DPRK, along with 13 other nations, boycotted the 1984 Games in retailiation for a U.S.-led boycott of the previous 1980 Moscow Games. One might think these cards would have been withdrawn from sale, but not so. Please note, the postmark cancellations are all there but very difficult to read. Overall, a most unusual set. Grade: 1
-
World Cup matches 1954-1986 (set of 6) (Maximum Cards)
At least the stamped portion of each of the six cards in this set is visible in our scan. The maximum cards show scenes from various finals over the years, some dated, some not (mostly 1970’s-80’s). Set was issued in 1985 and the postmark cancellations are hard to read. Grade: 1
-
Chess World Championship 1984-1985 (Maximum Card)
Wikipedia tells us that the World Chess Championship 1984 was a match between challenger Garry Kasparov and defending champion Anatoly Karpov in Moscow from 10th September 1984 to 15th February 1985. After five months and 48 games, the match was abandoned in controversial circumstances with Karpov leading five wins to three (with 40 draws), and replayed in the World Chess Championship 1985. Kasparov won. All of which leads up to: this is an unused maximum card, captioned in Korean and English. Grade: 1
-
Pyongyang, Memorial sculptural group of the Revolutionary Martyrs’ Cemetery (Maximum Card)
Unused maximum card from 1986, captions in Korean and English. Grade: 1
-
West Sea Barrage (Maximum Card)
This is a remarkable structure and the unused 1986 maximum card represents it well. Captioned in Korean and English. Grade: 1