Pohang Iron & Steel Plant & Facilities (1973)

Today's featured stamp issue commemorates the opening of the Pohang Iron & Steel Plant in 1973. I can't recall exactly when I added this stamp to my collection, but I think the stamp was in a lot I purchased this past fall. Depicted on the stamp is a picture of the iron and steel plant with molten metal being poured in the background. The particulars for this issue are as follows:

• Date of Issue: 03 July 1973
• Scott Catalogue #: 873
• Korea Postage stamp Catalogue (KPC) #: C584
• Quantity Produced: 1,500,000

Checking this stamp issue on the Korea Stamp Society website yielded the following description of the stamp provided by the South Korean Ministry of Communication in 1973:

Pohang Iron and Steel Co., Ltd. (POSCO) will celebrate on July 3, 1973, the Inauguration of Pohand Steel Works which is the key industry of the nation's Third Five Year Economic Development Plan.

To pursue the Government policy for modernization and industrialization of the country, POSCO carried out the initial ground breaking for the construction of the integrated iron and steel mill to include modern type and large scale ironmaking, steelmaking and rolling mill plants on April 1, 1970, under positive assistance of the Government.

Normal operation of the mill will meet the domestic steel demand and consequently will lead to a better foreign exchange position of the nation. It also will greatly contribute to the well-balanced industrial structure of the country by expenditing the development of related industries such as machinery, construction, automobile, shipbuilding, mining, etc.

The Pohang Steel Works is capable of producing 1.03 million tons of crude steel per annum and the products mix of plates, hot rolled coil, sheets, skelps and billets. POSCO has also finalized an expansion project plan, under which construction will begin this year, to produce 2.6 million tons, aiming at final production capacity of 7 million tons, of crude steel per annum.

In order to give wide publicity of this historic dedication of Pohang Steel Works, the Ministry of Communications is issuing this commemorative postage stamp.  

Today, the Pohang Iron & Steel Plant, also known as POSCO, is one of the world's largest steel makers! The South Korean automobile and shipbuilding industries have made it so. For those interested in learning more about POSCO's history there is an interesting write-up at: http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/POHANG-IRON-AND-STEEL-COMPANY-LTD-Company-History.html

Additionally, here is the POSCO website (English):  http://www.posco.com/homepage/docs/eng2/jsp/s91a0010001i.jsp

Pohang will always have a special place in my heart. Pohang was the first place I visited in South Korea. The U.S. Marine Corps has a small presence in Pohang and maintains Camp Mu Juk (Marine Expeditionary Camp - Pohang) for training exercises that take place throughout the year on the peninsula. My first two visits to Korea in 1997/1998 were during these joint U.S.-ROK training exercises that are regularly conducted. One of the memorable highlights from my first two visits to Pohang was driving through the ROK 1st Marine Division's Headquarters and seeing some of the obstacle courses and other facilities used for ROKMC boot camp. Several years would pass before I would return to Pohang....in 2003, coincidentally the day after the Iraq War began, I was back near Pohang conducting amphibious landing exercises with a company of ROK Marines. This particular visit made a lasting impression in my memory because I got very very sea sick going from ship to shore and shore to ship. By the time we hit the shore and the vehicle ramps were lowered on the beaches half of us that were crammed like sardines in the amphib tracks had lost their breakfasts. Good times in Pohang. 

I have said time and time again that I enjoy stamps primarily due to the history and things that can be learned about our world from them...equally enjoyable is when a stamp issue helps bring to the surface memories of experiences and times in our lives that are either directly or indirectly tied to the stamp sitting before us.

I love this stamp issue not because of the design or topic of the stamp necessarily, but because of the memories it helps remind me of. Good times indeed.

Until next time...

-Beezer