The postal system, which had been abolished due to the Gapsin Coup immediately after its establishment in the late Joseon Dynasty, was resumed ten years later with the setup of 25 post offices. The Kyonghung (경흥) post office, located in Kyonghung County, North Hamgyong Province, was the northernmost and last to open. Consequently, it had the shortest period of use for the double-circle datestamp.
While the double-circle datestamp was generally used for about two and a half years after June 1, 1895, the Kyonghung post office opened on December 27, 1896. With the discovery of a Gwangju post office datestamp from December 26, 1897, it can be inferred that the Kyonghung double-circle datestamp was only in use for about one year. This article looks back on the lives and collecting worlds of two philatelists who discovered and owned the Kyonghung cover.
Mr. Michel Liphschutz (Feb 25, 1910 – Sep 5, 1994)
A Russian-born French philatelist, Mr. Michel Liphschutz was added to the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists (RDP) by the Royal Philatelic Society London in 1968. He was a leading expert on the early stamps of Russia, including Zemstvo issues, Russian post offices abroad, the RSFSR, and the Soviet Union.
Born in Saint Petersburg on February 25, 1910, his family moved to Paris in 1922, leaving some relatives behind in Russia. A chemist and engineer by trade, he began his industrial career in France in 1934 and quickly established a professional reputation for his intellectual dynamism.
He started collecting Russian stamps in 1944. Through more than 50 years of dedicated study, he built the second-largest collection of Russian stamps in the world, surpassed only by Oleg Fabergé. His collection of the first issue was particularly impressive, containing over 300 copies, preceded by more than 40 unadopted essays of the famous “Mercury” or “Eagle” types (1854-57). He was one of the first to build specialized collections of the RSFSR and the Soviet Union at a time when the field was unpopular. The world’s first catalog on this subject (published by Cercle Philatélique France-URSS in 1969) was based primarily on his collection.
His collections of Zemstvo and Russian Post Offices Abroad were the finest ever assembled. One of his greatest treasures, he said, was the “Ulankom” cover from Mongolia, which he discovered in the 1940s. Never afraid to pay the price for a rare item, he once lost a unique mint block of four (Mi 2-4) from 1858 at auction because he bid based on the market estimate rather than his own desire. When the same set came up for sale again 20 years later, he sent a French dealer in New York a single instruction: “Buy.” He was not going to make the same mistake twice.
Liphschutz was a well-educated scholar. His acquaintances would visit his residence in Neuilly-sur-Seine, surrounded by books, to exchange views and knowledge. His life, of course, was about more than stamps. He spent time searching for family members who went missing in the Soviet Union after World War II and was known for doing much to help his family.
A high-level philatelist, he was a member of the French Académie de Philatélie from 1958, became its president in 1980, and was the second president of the Cercle Philatélique France-URSS. His prestigious collections were sold in Switzerland through several auctions by Guido Craveri/Harmers in 1993-94. The sale catalogs remain essential references for collectors in the field.
Mizuhara Meiso (1924 – Nov 1993)
Mizuhara Meiso was a renowned Japanese philatelist famous for his award-winning collections of Asian stamps and postal history, and for publishing literature on the subject. His collection of Chinese stamps and postal history was considered second in importance only to that of Sir Percival David.
Mizuhara was a founder of the Japan Philatelic Society in 1946, working to revive the hobby in post-WWII Japan. He later played a key role in establishing the Philatelic Museum in Mejiro, Tokyo.
In many respects, his collection of Chinese stamps and postal history rivaled, or even surpassed, that of Sir Percival David. (Of course, Sir Percival’s collection, sold by Robson Lowe between 1964 and 1975, is considered the most important of all time.) Mizuhara’s collection included items once owned by David, some of which David had acquired from John A. Agnew (d. 1939).
Mizuhara authored 15 books, primarily to document his collections for posterity. His final book, completed just before his death, was a record of The Postal History of Korea from 1884 to 1905, first published in Japanese in 1993. In the preface, he explained that the book was a response to the official publications of the Japanese postal service for its 120th anniversary, which failed to mention Korea despite Japan’s significant influence on its history. The book won a Large Gold Medal at the Bangkok ’93, China ’96, and Pacific ’97 philatelic exhibitions. The English translation (1998) won a Gold Medal at Singpex ’98 and a Large Gold Medal at Italia ’98.
Mizuhara passed away in November 1993. When his collections were auctioned by Spink & Son, the auction catalogs were compiled using his original exhibition pages.
(Please note this Spink catalogue is available on the KSS website from our catalogue page.)
Mizuhara Meiso on the Kyonghung Cover
The following is a direct quote from Mizuhara Meiso:
To truly understand the postal history of any country, it must be described based on genuine covers. The greatest controversy in collecting the postal history of the Great Joseon Kingdom is that no cover from the very beginning of the postal system has ever been found. Many collectors have dreamed of unearthing such a cover, and they must maintain their passion, however futile it may seem. As there are currently no covers from that period, we are left with the fruitless task of filling the gap with a few used stamps. If a genuine cover were discovered, the authenticity of these questionable used stamps could be settled instantly.
I have repeatedly described in this book how rare Joseon covers are compared to those of other countries. It is common for only a single cover to exist from a particular post office, and it is far quicker to count the post offices for which a cover is confirmed to exist than those for which none are.
Because there are no covers from the Gapsin era of 1884, the postal history of Joseon tends to be ranked a step below that of other nations. Thus, the dream of every philatelist has become to find just a few covers from the reopening of the postal service in 1895. The ranking of a collection, therefore, depends on how many covers with the double-circle datestamp bearing the first character of the country’s name one possesses.
Among these, the Kyonghung post office cover, established near the Russian border, has been secretly whispered about among collectors of Korean postal history as the ultimate rarity. This cover was quietly included in a massive collection of Russian stamps that won the Grand Prix International at the BUDAPEST 71 International Stamp Exhibition, held to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Hungarian stamps. It went unnoticed by most. The theme of the exhibition, Russian stamps, was so vast and indescribable that every collector was left breathless, and the single Joseon cover simply did not register.
In my diary entry for September 9th, I wrote that upon seeing this cover at the exhibition hall, I was ‘so surprised the trembling wouldn’t stop.’ I was the only one of the 14-member Japanese collector delegation who noticed it. The exhibitor, Mr. Michel Liphschutz, later became an international exhibition judge, so this mysterious cover was no longer publicly displayed. After showing a piece of its history to the world, it went back to sleep in his album.
In the years that followed, whenever I met this short, good-natured old man at international exhibitions, I would plead with him. Besides this cover, he also owned a cover from the Russian Imperial Post Office in Ulancom, Mongolia—a country I specialize in. It is the only one in the world, and all I could do was include a plate of it in my book Mongolian Postal History (1983). (p. 218)
While writing this book, I sent a letter requesting permission to use a plate of the Kyonghung cover. I received a reply that it was scheduled to be auctioned in Switzerland in May of this year (1993) and that I should come see it in person. Unfortunately, I was bedridden, and my doctor would not permit me to travel to Switzerland. It was in the color-printed auction catalog that I was reunited with this world-class, ultimate Korean rarity after 22 long years.
The Kyonghung Cover: Details
- Stamps Affixed: One 5-pun and one 2-cheon 5-pun stamp from the 1895 issue, totaling 3 cheon, affixed to the back of the cover. (This amount suggests a weight of over 15 grams, three times the standard letter rate).
- Postmark: Double-circle datestamp reading “Kyonghung (慶興) / Great Joseon (大朝鮮) / 2nd year of Geonyang (建陽), 1st month, 28th day” (January 28, 1897).
- Arrival Mark: Double-circle datestamp reading “Hanseong (漢城) / 2nd year of Geonyang (建陽), 2nd month, 20th day,” indicating a transit time of 23 days.
- Addressee: Russian Diplomatic Mission in Hanseong (written in Russian, with the same in Korean).
- Sender: South Ussuri District Border Committee (purple rubber stamp, with a red wax seal on the back).
Old Korean Postal History
This article is part of a series titled “Old Korean Postal History”, written by Kim Young-gil, FIP Juror for Postal History & President of the Korea Collectors Club. This particular installment, the 12th, was titled “Chapter 8-5: The Resumption of the Postal System and the Taegeuk Stamps”. It was published in Woopyo Magazine in January 2025.