President
"The Korean people is a talented, sagacious and civilized people who also developed brilliant traditions in science and culture."
The commemorative stamps issued in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea have the reputation of being the authoritative stamps worldwide, since they clearly show their unique appearance as a witness to history.
Typical well-known stamps include "Jipson Peak of Mt. Kumgang" (August 24, 1990) and "Wisteria Flower and a Puppy" (August 27, 1991). They were exhibited at the International Stamp Market of "Ritchionne 90" and "Ritchionne 91" held in Italy in Juche 79 (1990) and Juche 80 (1991), and received the special prize. And the "Exploration of the Antarctic" (April 20, 1991) won the championship in the "Stamp World Cup in 1992", held in France.
Prior to those stamps, however, there was one Korean stamp that greatly attracted the attention of the world people, and it was the commemorative stamp "Halley's Comet", issued on August 25, Juche 74 (1985).
Commemorative stamps are the basic kind of stamps which are normally issued in commemoration of significant events.
These stamps vividly reflect the social development, and the thoughts and feelings of the then people.
Commemorative stamps can be largely divided into two kinds; those of political theme and those of general social and cultural theme, according to the nature of their themes.
They are usually issued in large size, in varied colors, and in small numbers limited to the use on commemoration days.
The DPRK's stamp "Halley's Comet", was a commemorative stamp of the general social and cultural theme.
This stamp gained the admiration of a number of world philatelists when it won the first place in the monthly world stamp lottery which was held in a country in Juche 75(1986). This is a good testimony to the reputation of this stamp.
And there was a reason for that.
The British astronomer and mathematician Halley (1656-1742) applied Newton's law of gravitation to prove that the cycle of a comet which appeared in 1682 was about 76 years and that it orbited around the sun.
The most famous of Halley's scientific achievements was his prediction of periodic comets in 1705.
On the basis of his confirmation that the orbit of the comet was an ellipse, he predicted that this comet would return in late 1758 or early 1759.
On the night of December 25, 1758, 16 years after his death, this comet was sighted again.
The famous German physicist Palitz (1723-1788) scientifically proved that this comet was a periodic comet.
Later, this comet was named "Halley's Comet" in his honor.
Halley's forecast was confirmed by later generations, and his name remained in history with the comet.
The comet became more famous as it was rumored that it could hit the earth and destroy humanity.
On May 18, 1910, the whole Europe was in horror.
Because it was the first time since 1834 that Halley's comet was approaching the earth.
Austrian astronomers predicted the end of the earth, but nothing happened except for only a weak earthquake observed that day.
And that Halley's comet was to return again in 1986.
Reflecting this historical fact, in Juche 74(1985), Jo Jong Gu – a Korean stamp designer – created and completed the design of the commemorative stamp, "Halley's Comet".
For this, he had studied the scientific data of the comet and had dozens of consultations with the astronomers.
The design was approved and the stamp was officially issued by the DPRK State Stamp Bureau on August 25, Juche 74 (1985).
The stamp has a picture of Halley, along with the comet's orbit and a design based on the data of the comet research satellite.
It aroused great interest and response from the world's stamp collectors as well as from the scientific community, as it played the role of the guide to the return of the famous Halley's comet in 1986.
No sooner had it been issued than it attracted the attention of the world of stamp, and this further increased the world's interest in Korean stamps.
One foreign press reported that the comet was a strange star reappearing in 76 years. It continued, "Astronomers had anticipated that this star would collide with the Earth in 1910 and cause great damage. And as the same star would appear in 1986 again, it became the object of great interest of the stamp designers, with the result that in 1985 the stamps showing the Halley's comet were published in almost all countries, but in particular Halley's comet stamp issued in Korea is the most unique.
Many countries, modeling after this stamp, began to reflect Halley's comet in their stamps. As a result, in 1986 alone, over 530 kinds of "Halley's Comet" stamps were issued in 80 countries and swamped the world stamp markets.
The DPRK's commemorative stamp "Halley's comet" had a good design and vivid picture of the comet so as to give an intuitive understanding of the shape of the comet to those who had not seen it before. The stamp also contained, in great detail, data on the comet found by the scientific community.
It not only aroused public interest in comets around the world but also played a great role in guiding the way to civilization by ushering in the mysterious world in many ways.
Today, stamp collectors in the DPRK visit the regularly held stamp exhibitions to collect, exchange and appreciate stamps on various themes including "Halley's Comet". This stamp culture adds to the civilized sentiments of society.
