LAND/PEOPLE & PHILATELIC
Proof and Presentation Sheets
South Korea, is the most gift-giving society that I have had the privilege to live amongst. It was, therefore, no surprise to me when I learned of a postal-episode that occurred from 1946 through September 1, 1957.
A by-product of the stamp design phase, are practice printings -Proofs, of stamp designs that are close to completion. These are passed among the decision makers, seeking the final decision; go with this design, or, change this or that about the design, and then print some more Proofs.
As soon as the S. Koreans took over the Postal planning and operation, under the U.S. Military Government, they began to give gifts of the final Kyong Yang She-tuh/Proof Sheets of stamp designs, mostly to high-ranking individuals in the Interim Government. This practice continued through October 1, 1948.
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Images displayed here, were copied from the 2001-KPC (2001 Korean Postage Stamp Catalogue); or the 1997 Korean Standard Stamp Catalogue.
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At the dawning of the Republic of South Korea, the Bureau of Posts decided to jack-up the gift-giving practice, by producing a pseudo-Proof Sheet with a printed topic description at the bottom. This new sheet became to be known as a Jung-jong She-tuh/Presentation Sheet, and records indicate that 300 each, of the first 21 sheets were produced: July 1, 1948 - November 20, 1950.
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Images displayed here, were copied from the 2001-KPC (2001 Korean Postage Stamp Catalogue); or the 1997 Korean Standard Stamp Catalogue.
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Soe-hyung, literally translated means "smaller version of", or "miniature of", and has no relationship to "souvenir" or "rememberance". It is not known to me, who began the "Souvenir Sheet" class of philatelic item, that has ensued for the past fifty years.
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