Cash retail
35Share of everyday retail still leaning on notes and coins (relative score).
Circulation is legal and practical: where South Korean won is tender, where it is accepted, and where it is merely a parallel unit.
Cash shares of payments vary widely; some societies are nearly cashless while others still settle wages and retail in notes.
Where it circulates
Core territory
Primary legal-tender area where taxes and courts use South Korean won.
Border & tourist use
Neighbours and visitors may accept it informally beside local cash.
Offshore deposits
Banks outside the core territory book liabilities in this unit.
Invoice currency
Trade contracts may price goods in this unit even when neither party is local.
Remittance corridor
Migrant workers send home value that often converts through this FX market.
Pegs & regimes
Historical pegs
pastEarlier gold, sterling or dollar pegs left institutional memory.
Current regime
todayFloat, managed float, currency board or hard peg — see FX chapter for role.
Capital account
ongoingHow freely residents buy foreign assets shapes effective convertibility.
Cash vs digital
Card / wallet
75Card schemes and mobile wallets dominate in many cities.
Instant bank rails
55Account-to-account instant payments grow inside the currency area.
Large-value RTGS
85Wholesale payments settle in central-bank money.
Denominations
Top noteHighest common note
Mid noteWorkhorse note
Low noteSmall note
Top coinHighest coin
Low coinSmallest coin
cents/filsSub-unit
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