Casino Chips of South Korea (Republic of Korea)

There are only a handful of South Korean casino chip collectors out there.  Most are unaware of Korean casinos and there are a limited amount of available Korean casino chips to collect.

To gain entry into a South Korean casino a foreign passport must be shown.  Chips are obtained by buying chips at a table game and playing.  It cannot be bought at the Cashiers Cage.

Most of the patrons of South Korea casinos are from Asia.  Hence, most of the souvenir chips taken home are somewhere in Japan & China.

In 1967 Olympos Hotel & Casino opened and became the 1st casino in South Korea.

In 1968 Walker Hill Hotel & Casino became the 2nd casino to open.

A Florida newspaper article dated March 22, 1970 mentions a Green Island Club Casino on Cheju Island (currently spelled Jeju).

In 1995 gambling was legalized for domestic residents in Jeongseon, Kangwon-Do (now spelled Gangwon-Do).  In 2000 Kangwon Land Hotel & Casino opened and the government allowed its residents to gamble there.

Between 1993 and 1996 Asia faced an economic recession and financial turmoil and casino customers from foreign countries dropped.  In 1997 South Korea's currency was devalued.  A twist to this was an increase in casino customers because their currency value against the Korean won almost doubled. The customer count dropped when the Korean won regained its exchange rate.  Since 2000 the customers to South Korean casinos have steadily increased.

Currently the top customers are led by China by a substantial margin.

Compare the chips I've listed here with the chips in your collection.  If you have any different Korean chips send me an email. We can trade information and chips.

Newly Added

Alpensia Casino, Gangwondo, 5,000 & 10,000 won chips, June 2018 (thanks Walter D.)

Seven Luck Casino high denomination, notched Chipco First Issue chips, August 2016 (thanks Charlie W.)