Bank of Chōsen

The Bank of Chōsen (Japanese: 朝鮮銀行, romanized: Chōsen Ginkō, Korean: 조선은행 Joseon Eunhaeng), known from 1909 to 1911 as the Bank of Korea (Japanese: 韓國銀行 Kankoku Ginkō, Korean: 한국은행 Hanguk Eunhaeng) and transcribed after 1945 as Bank of Joseon, was a colonial bank that served as bank of issue for Korea under Japanese rule as well as being a commercial bank, with significant operations beyond Korea until 1945. Formed in 1909 by reorganization of the former Korean operations of Japan's Dai-Ichi Bank, it issued the Korean yen from 1910 to 1945. Its seat was initially established in Seoul (known at the time as Hanseong, then Keijō), relocated to Tokyo in May 1924, and subsequently relocated back to Keijō.^: 7 It has been described as "a primary component of Japanese foreign expansionism".^: 151

Following the division of Korea in 1945, the Bank of Chōsen was succeeded in North Korea by the Central Bank of the DPRK. In South Korea, it continued its activity and issued the South Korean won until 1950, when it was replaced by the Bank of Korea. Its branches in Japan were liquidated in October 1945, with some of the assets forming the basis for the later establishment of Nippon Fudosan Bank in 1957.