The UPU was founded on October 9, 1874, with aims to facilitate free exchange of materials and thoughts between countries and peoples of the world and to promote the international collaboration. To this end, member nations are united into a single postal delivery territorty for reciprocal exchange of mail.

The UPU head-quartered in Berne, Swiss, is one of the oldest international organizations in existence and is now functioning as one of the professional United Nations organizations. Its member nations are 142 countries covering nearly the whole world on excluding a few countries like Communists China.

Korea sent its representative to the fifth UPU general meeting of Washington in 1897 to sign the UPU treaty and it began the international postal service three years later on January 1, 1900. The UPU is the only international organization Korea became affiliated with during the old Yi dynasty, and Korea had benefited much from the affiliation in modernizing its own postal service, and promoting cooperation with other countries, as is also true today.

In commemoration of the 70-year anniversary of Korea`s affiliation with the international organization, the Ministry of Communications issues a four-colored commemorative stamp in gravure printing that the UPU continue to contribute to the development of the international community.