Recorded history shows Korea as three kingdoms from 57 BC to 935 AD. At the end of the second world war, the USA entered Korea from the south, USSR from the North. North Korea, under Russian influence, proclaimed itself as a Democratic People's Republic on August 25th 1948. Its capital is Pyongyang. North Korea issued its first coins in 1959 with 100 chon equal to 1 won. We show a 500 Won of 1988 with an ice hockey theme for the winter olympics in Calgary.