Won sign
The won sign, ₩, is a currency symbol. It represents the South Korean won, the North Korean won and, unofficially, the old Korean won.
| ₩ | |
|---|---|
Won sign | |
| In Unicode | U+20A9 ₩ WON SIGN |
| Currency | |
| Currency | South Korean won North Korean won Old Korean won |
| Graphical variants | |
| ￦ | |
| U+FFE6 ￦ FULLWIDTH WON SIGN | |
 Category | |
Appearance
Some fonts display the won sign with two horizontal lines, and others with only one horizontal line. Both forms are used when handwritten.
Encoding
The Unicode code point is U+20A9 ₩ WON SIGN: this is valid for either appearance. Additionally, there is a full width character at U+FFE6 ￦ FULLWIDTH WON SIGN (in the block halfwidth and fullwidth forms).
Microsoft Windows
In Microsoft Windows code page 949, the position 0x5C (backslash) is also used for the won sign.[1]
In Korean versions of Windows, many fonts (including system fonts) display the backslash character as the won sign. This also applies to the directory separator character (for example, C:₩Program Files₩) and the escape character(₩n). Most Korean keyboards input 0x5C when the won sign key is pressed, so the Unicode letters are rarely used.
The same issue (of dual use of a code point) occurs with the yen sign in Japanese versions of Windows.
Fictional use
In fiction, it is used for the woolong, a fictional currency in anime by Shinichirō Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop, Space Dandy and Carole & Tuesday), and for "Kinzcash", the currency of the online game Webkinz.
References
- "When is a backslash not a backslash?". archives.miloush.net.
