While it is the Chiwoo Cheonwang that is the most widely known issue from the Korean Mint, KOMSCO, they do maintain a neat selection of series highlighting various elements of Korean culture and history. Starting in 2019, it was the turn of the sport of Taekwondo. The one-ounce silver round depicted an advocate of the sport in action executing a spinning high kick.

A nice design, it was a more low-key release than the iconic Chiwoo, and even the other series that KOMSCO strike, like the ZI:SIN and the Korean Tiger, but as a debut release, it seems to have sold well regardless. Time for the second annual issue and it’s a far more dynamic looking design, perhaps taking some cues from the last Tiger issue.

A very cool design, the artist has managed to pull off the extreme perspective with aplomb and the whole thing looks anatomically spot-on. There’s always the risk that something like this will end up looking a little odd, but no such qualms here. Just the series title and the composition are inscribed on the main face, and both are place sensibly out of the way of the main action. The obverse face is a common one to the series and is a stylised representation of the Korean flag yin-yang symbol that hints at a fast spinning motion.

For security purposes, the mints clever struck ‘lenticular-like’ mark is placed near the centre. Depending on how you hold the coin, you will either see 999 (the fineness) or Ag (the metal) displayed. KOMSCO have some interesting plans for lhis technique involving backgrounds which we’re hoping come to pass. The mintage of this one is up slightly from the 25,000 of the first coin, to 30,000 here, but we’d suspect this will sell easily given the great imagery used. Distributed by CoinsToday.kr, you should be able to pick these up shortly.