The 2009 North Korean Won devaluation

Not many people know, but in 2009 the North Korean regime enacted a massive devaluation of its currency the Won which wiped out the savings of many citizens.

The won was revalued in November 2009 for the first time in 50 years. North Koreans were given seven days to exchange a maximum of ₩100,000 (worth approximately US$40 on the black market) in ₩1,000 notes for ₩10 notes, but after protests by some of the populace, the limit was raised to ₩150,000 in cash and ₩300,000 in bank savings. The official exchange rate at this time was around $740 but black market value of the ₩150,000 was estimated to be near $30. The revaluation, seen as a move against private market activity, wiped out many North Koreans’ savings.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korean_won#2009_revaluation

Pictures of the new notes were published on December 4, 2009, in the Chosun Shinbo, a North Korean newspaper based in Japan. The paper claimed that the measure would weaken the free market and strengthen the country’s socialist system. However, the won plummeted 96 percent against the U.S. dollar in the ensuing days after revaluation. According to one report, however, North Korea backtracked on some aspects of the revaluation following a riot by market traders which led to 12 executions. Authorities eventually raised the limit to 500,000 won, Chosun said, and promised no probe into savings of up to one million won and unlimited withdrawals if savings of more than one million are properly explained.

In February 2010, some of the curbs on the free market were eased and a senior party official sacked after incidents of unrest. Pak Nam-gi, the director of the Planning and Finance Department of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, was later executed in 2010.