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 ().
Yuan (currency)
The symbol for the yuan (元) is also used in Chinese to refer to the currency units of Japan "(yen)" and Korea "(won)", and is used to translate the currency unit "dollar" as well as some other currencies; for example, the United States dollar is called "Meiyuan" () in Chinese, and the euro is called "Ouyuan" (). When used in English in the context of the modern foreign exchange market, the Chinese yuan (CNY) refers to the renminbi (RMB), which is the official currency used in mainland China.