Etymology of the Korean currencies
The won is the currency of both North and South Korea. "Won" is a cognate of the Chinese currency unit, the yuan (//), and the Japanese currency unit, the yen (; ¥), meaning "round object". The won is subdivided into 100 jeon ().
Central Bank of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
On February 15, 1946, a central bank of North Korea was announced, which was to be under the control of the Soviet military. However, the bank failed to accomplish its objectives, being unable to meet its costs of operation, and the 100 million wŏn capitalisation was ineffective. The North Korean Interim People's Committee did not look upon the bank favorably, and chose instead to work through the Farmers' Bank, which also existed at the time. By late 1946, banking functions were consolidated into two main institutions, the Central Bank and Farmer's Bank. In June 1947, around 1,000 million wŏn was concentrated in the Central Bank, allowing it to extend credits totalling 900 million wŏn for economic rehabilitation. The consolidation reflected a return to the original objectives of the People's Committee, which wanted closer control over the economy; any banking people opposed to the changes within the system were removed from their posts. On December 6, 1947, a comprehensive program of currency reform was announced.