STAMP ISSUES AFTER THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY
Republic of Korea: 70th Anniversary of Admission to ICAO
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Issue date: 12/04/2022
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Miniature sheet commemorating the 70th anniversary of the admission of Korea to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Personalized stamps. The sheet (198x160mm) consists of a square of 14 stamps (34x36mm) surrounding a central label. Plate number in the left margin.
Emblem of the 70th anniversary of Korea’s admission to ICAO.
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Background: The Republic of Korea became a Member of ICAO on 11 December 1952 (30 days after the deposit of its instruments of adherence to the Convention on International Civil Aviation on 11 November 1952). As of April 2022, Korea has been a member state of the ICAO Council for seventh straight terms since 2001. The aviation industry of the Republic of Korea had undergone enormous continuous growth since then and is playing a core role in the global aviation industry. In 2020, Korea ranked fifth globally in terms of aviation transport, according to government data.
The Republic of Korea commemorated twice in the past its adherence to the Chicago Convention by issuing stamps: 1. On 11 December 1962, with a stamp and a souvenir sheet for the 10th anniversary. See more details at the following link: Korea – 1962 - 10th Anniversary of Admission to ICAO. 2. On 11 December 1977, with a stamp for the 25th anniversary. See more details at the following link: Korea – 1977 - 25th Anniversary of Admission to ICAO. 3. On 11 December 2002, with a postal stationery card. See more details at the following link: Korea - 2002 – 50th Anniversary of Admission to ICAO.
The miniature sheet was issued on the occasion of the two-day Legal Seminar held in the Republic of Korea from 12 to 14 April 2022. They were created on Korea’s apparatus for personalized stamps. There is no first day cover related to this issue. During the forum, some 800 officials from a dozen nations explored ways of promoting the global aviation industry's safe recovery from the pandemic with a focus on policies and procedures regarding public health and quarantine measures, and examined how to set rules on growing unlawful acts committed by passengers and increasing cybersecurity threats faced by civil aviation. Discussions were held on the global aviation industry's emission reduction efforts and the legal understanding of drones and other air mobility.
On the evening of 12 April 2022, a dinner of over 40 persons commemorated the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the Legal Committee; each guest was offered a picture frame (see below) with the souvenir sheet prepared by the Korean Post Office to mark the 70th anniversary of Korea’s adherence to the Chicago Convention.
Face value of the stamps In the right margin of each stamp (after the name of the country KOREA), one can see the Korean characters represented below.
Before the present-day Korean alphabet, the Korean language used Chinese characters. This changed in the 15th century when King Sejong the Great personally developed a writing system known today as Hangeul (also spelled Hangul). The Hangeul system was created to be easy to learn, and easy to understand. As regards numbers, there are two Korean writing systems: Native Korean numbers and Sino-Korean numbers.
There are two ways to say “zero” in Sino-Korean Hangeul. One is 영 (yeong) and the other is 공 (gong). Like in English, we often say “oh” or “zero.” In Korean, they use them very similarly. But 영 (yeong) is used when one would need to say “zero,” like in math problems. The South Korean WON has been the currency of the Republic of Korea since 1962; in Hangeul, the currency is written 원. By combining the 2 characters, we get: 영원, meaning 0 WON. In other words, the stamps of the miniature sheet are “forever” (or permanent) stamps and are always accepted at the current domestic postage price, regardless of how much one payed for the forever stamp.
Picture frame with the souvenir sheet marking the 70th anniversary of Korea’s adherence to the Chicago Convention.
The ICAO Legal Seminar has been held in the Republic of Korea at every 3-year interval since 2006 to enhance cooperation and share an extensive range of information among the member countries of ICAO. In 2022, it was held in a hybrid format of concurrently holding on and offline seminars in order to ensure that as many people can participate as possible for the further advancement of the aviation industry in Korea and overseas without discontinuation in spite of the continuing difficulties arising from the global COVID-19 pandemic. The seminar was held at the Conrad Hotel, in Yeouido, Seoul from 12 and 14 April 2022; on the third day (14 April), an Industrial Tour was organized for foreign participants only. Located in Yeouido, called The Wall Street of Korea, the Conrad Hotel is a luxury hotel having geographical advantages to Incheon International Airport and Gimpo International Airport. ICAO is actively promoting the ratification of the adopted aviation security treaties through legal seminars and the GAT (Global Aviation Training) international air law course where students can benefit from the experience of ICAO Legal Bureau staff. These matters are also raised on a regular basis by ICAO leadership during bilateral meetings with high-level State officials. The Global Aviation Training Section (GAT) at ICAO aims to lead Human Resources Development strategies established by Member States and the aviation community to ensure they have access to a sufficient number of qualified and competent personnel to operate, manage and maintain the current and future air transport system at prescribed international standards. Established in January 2014, the ICAO GAT Section, is the focal point of contact for all training-related activities. It is responsible for the planning, management and coordination of all ICAO aviation training ensuring the efficient, effective and harmonized implementation of the ICAO Training Policy.
The 1st Interim Assembly of PICAO, held at Montréal from 21 May to 7 June 1946, adopted Resolution 31 foreseeing the establishment of a Permanent Committee on International Air Law (i.e., a Legal Committee) after the creation of ICAO. CITEJA (Comité International Technique d’Experts Juridiques Aériens) fully agreed with the view of PICAO Assembly and held its last working meeting (i.e., the 15th Plenary Session) at Cairo from 14 to 19 November 1946, where it recommended that a Committee on International Air Law be established within ICAO. The permanent Legal Committee came into being on 23 May 1947; it was a committee of the Assembly, but operated largely under the direction of the Council and its duties were rather straightforward: to study any legal matters referred to it by the Council. It was comprised of legal experts appointed by the Member States. The Legal Committee held its first full session in Brussels from 10 to 25 September 1947. More information about the establishment of the Legal Committee can be found at the following link: Legal Committee.
On 4 April 2022, the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Korea to ICAO held a banquet to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the formal establishment of the Organization, which was officially born when the Convention on International Civil Aviation, adopted at the Chicago Conference on 7 December 1944, entered into force on 4 April 1947. A video demonstrating the achievements of Korean civil aviation since the country joined ICAO 70 years ago was played afterwards. The emblem of the 70th anniversary of Korea’s admission to ICAO was displayed on the wall (see picture below).
Welcome speech by Dr. Sangdo Kim, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to ICAO during the welcome speech at the banquet on 4 April 2022. |
