Abstract
Bank of Chosen notes issued by the central bank of colonial Korea began to circulate in Manchuria from the late 1910s. This article clarifies the role of these notes in the local economy of Manchuria in this period through a case study of Kanto (present Yanbian) district, which is on the borders of Korea and Russia. Bank of Chosen notes strated to flow into this district from 1916, as a result of the increasing export of farm products to the United States and Europe. However they could not destroy the value of Jilin Guantie, the local currency of north-eastern Manchuria. Jilin Guantie were used for dealing in agricultural products in rural areas, while Bank of Chosen notes were used mainly in market towns. The circulation pattern of the latter was ruled by the fluctuation in supply and demand for the former. This case shows that Bank of Chosen notes did not destroy the existing multi-layered currency system of Manchuria, but rather came to be one component of the system. It can be said that the expansion of their circulation was supported not only by Japanese policies, but also by the existing currency system.
