Korean currency "crisis"

The Bank of Korea is in a spot, and to use a purely British expression, it's right sticky wicket.

Since the early 1970s, the biggest denomination has been the 10,000 won bill -- roughly equivalent to $10. Banks issue 100,000 won "checks," (수표) but they're a bit of a hassle, so the government has decided to issue 50,000 and 100,000 bills starting in 2009.

The question is who to put on them. Yi Hwang (이황) and Yi Yi (or Yi I, 이이) are on the 1,000 and 5,000 notes -- they are the two most prominent Confucian scholars of the Joseon Dynasty. King Sejong the Great (세정대왕) is on the 10,000. He is credited for the creation of Hangeul, the Korean writing system.

So it's going to have to be someone pretty great to be greater than the last "Great" king. Rather than decide for themselves (and risk the criticism), the wise ones over at the Bank of Korea decided to have an online poll. They picked out ten historical figures in August and put them out for an online vote. Source

What they didn't count on was the power of Korea's online youth. Rather than vote for the 10 "pre-selected" candidates, they flooded the BOK with votes for Gwanggaeto the Great (광게토대왕).

Gwanggaeto is a controversial figure in Korean history because China considers his kingdom, Goguryeo (고구려), to be part of their history. To have this expansionist king on the highest denomination would create a dilemma for the Korean government.

Do they go with the popular choice and irritate China or alienate the public to please the next-door neighbor?