A national park is a protected area that is designated and managed by the government to protect the ecosystem, cultural and historical heritage, and rare animals and plants, and also to improve people's health, to provide them with leisure activities, and to help improve their work-life balance. In 1872 in the U.S., Yellowstone was designated as the world's first national park. In Korea, Jirisan, or “Mount Jiri,” was the first national park, designated in 1967. Currently, Korea has 23 national parks across the country.

In an effort to widely publicize the beauty of our national parks and the significance of ecological conservation, the Bank of Korea launched the Korean National Parks Commemorative Coins series, covering 22 of our national parks. To this end, from two to four parks have been selected each year as the theme for that year, starting in 2017, which was the 50th anniversary of Korea’s first designation of a national park.

In this exhibition, “Four Seasons of National Parks Engraved on Coins”, the beautiful shades of color that previously adorned the series of commemorative coins are expressed as the four seasons in our national parks. Moreover, the exhibition allows visitors to participate in the issuing and manufacturing of commemorative coins. It is hoped that the beauty of our national parks, as engraved on commemorative coins, will provide visitors with an opportunity to cherish the value of preserving our natural and cultural heritage, and to pass it on to future generations.