After the
Surrender of Japan,
United States Army Military Government in Korea was set up in the southern half of the
Korean Peninsula.
United States Armed Forces officers were assigned to military government jobs, and
Lieutenant colonel William J. Herlihy was appointed director of the Bureau of Communications. In these years, the postal service was in turmoil that delivering posts and newspapers usually took nearly a month, and it was not until early 1947 that parcels were delivered restrictively. In the meanwhile, the cost of postage continued to rise. On August 12, 1946, the cost of postage was increased fivefold, and it doubled on April 1, 1947. Since no stamps were available, the United States Army Military Government issued stamps on February 1, 1946, by temporarily overprinting former Japanese stamps. On May 1, the first
commemorative stamps in South Korea were issued to celebrate the first anniversary of its independence. On August 15, a 50 chon stamp commemorating the first anniversary of the independence was also issued. On September 10, the United States Army Military Government issued definitive stamps with the name of "Joseon". File:Korean overprint stamp of 20ch on Japanese 6sen stamp.JPG|Japanese 6 sen stamp overprinted by
United States Army Military Government in Korea, February 1946 File:Commemorative stamps released by Japan's colonial rule of Korea.jpg|50 chon commemorative stamp, August 1946 File:Korean 5won stamp in 1946.JPG|5 won definitive stamp, September 1946 On August 15, 1948, the government of South Korea was formally established. However, the name "Republic of Korea" already began to appear on August 1, on the commemorative stamp celebrating the promulgation of the Constitution of South Korea. A set of 15 definitive stamps were introduced with the name "Republic of Korea" from October 1. In this period, stamps were used as means of creating a nation and reifying national legitimacy. Stamps presented workers, farmers, national infrastructure, Korean Peninsula,
census and national symbols such as
Flag of South Korea or
Hibiscus syriacus, the national flower of South Korea. On September 15, 1954, a set of 3 stamps depicting
Liancourt Rocks, or
Dokdo (독도) in Korean language were issued. The Japanese government opposed South Korea's plan and stated that they would consider all posts with Liancourt Rocks stamps as prohibited goods. South Korean authorities responded that returning posts without proper reasons would be contravening regulations of Universal Postal Union. Eventually posts with Liancourt Rocks stamps were delivered within Japan after stamps were blackened or torn off. Korea Post again officially issued Liancourt Rocks stamps depicting flora and fauna of islets on January 16, 2004, as a part of the Islands of Korea Series. Japanese authorities stated that the issue violates the cooperative spirit of the Universal Postal Union, and
Tarō Asō, then-
Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, mentioned about the issue of Japanese version of Liancourt Rocks stamp, or
Takeshima stamp, which was not actualised. == Modern era ==