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 ().
North Korean won
On July 25, 2014, a new 5,000 won note dated 2013 was released into circulation. Instead of depicting the portrait of North Korea's founder Kim Il-sung, the note depicts an image of his birthplace in Mangyondae and on the back the International Friendship Exhibition in Myohyangsan that displays gifts he and his son Kim Jong-il received from foreign leaders. There has been ongoing speculation that this could indicate plans for higher denominations to be released later which would depict Kim Il-sung, Kim Jong-il, or possibly both. However the official reason behind the change was to combat counterfeiters.