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`Our ancestors made a great deal of contribution to the development of our science, leaving us of today remarkable achievements in various fields. The Ministry of Comminications has been issuing special postage stamps in series featuring their scientific creativity and inventions so that their spirit of science will be remembered and widely known. The two kinds(the fourth in the series) being issuesd now designed to introduce the creativeness of our ancestors, who invented wooden as well as metallic types earlier than any other nation in the world. The sutra printed by means of wooden type that was discovered in 1966 in a Buddhist temple in Kyongju has been proved to be a copy of the book believed to have been printed sometime during the rule, 704-751, of the Shilla Dynasty, thus earlier than any other printed book found in the world. Shilla`s wooden-type printing was handed down to the Koryo Dynasty, in which it reached the peak of development in 1237 when the sutra Palman-daejangkyong was printed. Our ancestors were the first to invent metallic-type printing, and this was officially recogized by the world when it was disclosed that a copy of the book printed by means of metallic type in Koryo at the close of its period was kept at the National Library in paris. Metallic printing, invented in our country, was introduced to the world through China, Arabia, Germany, and the Netherlands, and it is our national pride that the printing method spread throughout the world in this way has greatly helped spread information and knowledge, leading to the present civilization of the world.`