Detail

`On october 16, 1995, when domestic postal rates are set to change, the Ministry of Information and Communication will begin issuing two new definitive postage stamps : one with a denomination of 210 won, which will be set as the basic rate of nonstandrdized postal items for non-priority mail, and the other denomination of 560 won, which will be the basic rate of nonstandrdized postal items for priority mail. The non-priority 210-won definitive stamp will keep the existing ``Little Tern`` design, only changing the background color to pale orange to depict a Little Tern sitting on a riverbank with the water aglow from the light of the setting sun. The Little Tern (Sterna albifrons)is a summer migratory bird which inhabits tropical and temperate regions, including some locations in Korea. Both male and female birds look alike with a white and gray body, a black head, and black lines around the eyes. Its beak is yellow, and the tip of its beak is blackish, but in the winter the entire beak turns black. This bird feeds on small fish and lives on the sand and gravel along beaches and riverbanks. It lays two to three eggs and both male and female birds take turns incubating them. The definitive stamps for priority mail feature an airplane, signifying their speedy delivery, to distinguish them from the definitive stamps for non-priority mail. The colors of the planeand the border of the stamps differ accrding to denomination and use : thus , the 560 won definitive stamp features an airplne with a pink border, indicating its use for nonstandrdized mail. In 1992, the Ministry of Information and Communication drew up a master plan to phase in new definitive stamps to replace the old ones, which have been in use for a long time, and simultaneously to upgrade the standards of Korean stamps. In accordance with this plan, the 500-won definitive stamp featuring ``brick depicting a mountain relief`` which was first issued on July 20, 1983, is now being replaced with the image of a ``celadon water dropper in the shape of a pomegranate``. This pomegranate-shaped celadon water dropper was a stationery item made during the Koryo Dynasty. It stands 7.4cm and is 7.9cm in diameter. This attractive piece was an object of art as well as a functional writing accessory. There is a hole, in the shape of a pomegranate flower, through which the vessel can be filled with water. The water is poured out of a spout in the form of a monkey`s open mouth. The body is shaped like the monkey which embtaces the juicy ripe poemgranate.The monkey is coated with a jade-color glaze with a touch of green. The ripe poemgrantate`s seeds are represented by dense white dots meticulously decorated using the sanggam inlaid technique (a decoration technique in which designs were first cut into the meral or clay surface, and then these incisions were filled with gold, silver, or clay of different textures to emphasize and highlight the designs). The Ministry of Information and Communication has issued this stamp as part of a regular change in definitive-stamp designs to update and enliven the image on Korean postage stamps and to publicize unique and valuable aspects of Korea`s cultural heritage.`