Detail

`Landmark events and individuals from Ancient Choson to Shilla period were selected for the third collection of the millennial stamp series. Korean history is said to have begun with the foundation of Ancient Choson by Tangun, the mythical progenitor of the Korean people, in the region that stretched from the Liao River basin in Manchuria to the northwestern part of the Korean peninsula.After that, Koguryo`s King Kwanggaet`o vigorously added vast territories to the kingdom through conquest, extending it to its farthest northward point in Korean history, while Shilla`s Chang Po-go held sway over vital sea lanes, used for commercial trade in Northeast Asia, from his strong millitary base at Ch`onghae-jin, stretching his power far out across the sea.This enterprising spirit of Korean people is well illustrated in the Koguryo murals depicting Korean wrestling scenes on the walls of the Tomb of the Korean Wrestlers as well as in the hwarang spirit of Shilla`s heroes like Kwanch`ang and Kim Yu-sin, who cultivated their bodies and minds and sacrificed their lives for their country. This collection of stamps features `Samguk yusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms),` which contains records about Ancients Choson and Ch`amsong-dan, an alter believed to have been erected by Tangun the wall painting of the Korean wrestling scene in the Tomb of the Korean Wrestlers from Koguryo the portrait of King Kwanggaet`o and bronze bowls with the insciption of Ulmyo Howoo that were excavated from the Howoo-ch`ong Tomb, erected as atribute to the accmlishments of King Kwanggaet`o Chinese characters carved in the year of Imsin, making an oath of loyalty to the country on a rock that is believed to have been engraved by hwarang, the elite young corps of Shilla the `Five Secular Injunctions` honored by the hwarang members and Chang po-go, who established a maritime kingdom by dominating Shilla`s coastal waters.A millennium logo in the sharp of a clock is arranged side by side with these new stamps, issued in sheets of five stamps each.`