What does a banknote printer do in a cashless society? In Korea, it’s making art prints
- The state-run mint in South Korea is showing a new use for its printing technology – art reproductions – in readiness for a cashless future
By Yi Whan-woo
The Korea Minting and Security Printing Corp (KOMSCO) is stepping up efforts to leverage decades of expertise in printing technology by transforming into a business entity that also delves into the realm of art and other forms of creative cultural content.
The country’s sole manufacturer of banknotes and coins, KOMSCO, announced on July 30 a special exhibition of replicated images of masterpiece paintings from Korea and abroad.
The exhibition runs until September 1 at KOMSCO’s Currency Museum in Daejeon, South Korea, and features images reproduced using the company’s intaglio printing know-how.
It is KOMSCO’s first art exhibition aimed at introducing the intaglio printing method.
From Korea, the images include ones by 18th-century painters from the Joseon dynasty, such as Portrait of a Beauty by Shin Yun-bok. Among the images of Western paintings are Cafe Terrace at Night by Vincent van Gogh from 1888 and Woman with a Parasol – Madame Monet and Her Son by Claude Monet from 1875.
