Folder 114
South Korea
South Korea, 1989. Licensed EMI/Kemongsa, pressed by Jeil, censorship-passed - and the B label carries nothing at all.
What the record says
Every line below was read off a native-resolution crop of the photograph named beside it.
Run-out photographed, both sides. Side A is stamped EKPL 021 A and side B EKPL 021 B - Discogs' two recorded strings for this release, exactly. The characters are regular and evenly spaced, unlike the hand-cut messages on the European and Israeli copies on this shelf, and Discogs describes both of its own as Stamped; how these were applied is not something this dossier asserts from a photograph, only that they look machine-set rather than scratched. What is not here is as telling as what is: no EJ 2402001 root, no STERLING, and none of the cutting-room graffiti that travels with a Sterling-cut lacquer. The Korean lacquer was cut locally and carries the local number only.
Barcode and Other Identifiers: Matrix / Runout
As Discogs records them for release 4454191. Green: in my collection (2 of 2). Red: missing.
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Stamped A Side Runout) | EKPL 021 A — this copy |
| ✓ | Matrix / Runout (Stamped B Side Runout) | EKPL 021 B — this copy |
Every line of small print, and the photograph it came from — 20 of them
Rear cover, foot: boxed EMI with EMI/계몽사 [주] and EMI/KEMONGSA MUSIC LTD.
IMG_2141
Rear cover: Manufactured by JEIL RECORDS, Under License from EMI/KEMONGSA-EMI RECORDS LTD. U.K.
IMG_2141
Rear cover: Registration No. 127 to the Ministry of Culture & Infomation. Passed Censorship by K.E.C.P.P. - the sleeve's own spelling of Information
IMG_2141
Rear cover: Unauthorized Sale, Broadcasting or Performance of This Sound Recording Prohibited.
IMG_2141
Rear cover: ℗ 1984 Original Sound Recordings made by EMI Records Ltd. · © 1984 Iron Maiden (Holdings) Ltd.
IMG_2141
Rear cover, approval line: 8907 then two L-prefixed groups, the last L4916 - the middle group is not resolved in any frame
IMG_2141
Rear cover: PLAYING TIME: 51.20
IMG_2142
Label, side A: EKPL-0021 over EJ 2402001 over EJ 2402001a
IMG_2151
Label, side A: THIS SIDE and OTHER SIDE tracklists with running times, 33⅓ R.P.M. Stereo, the IRON MAIDEN logo and POWERSLAVE in blue
IMG_2152
Label, side A: (89. 11. 20) - the date, printed on the label
IMG_2151
Label rim: MANUFACTURED BY JEIL RECORDS, UNDER LICENSE FROM EMI-KEMONGSA/EMI RECORDS LTD.
IMG_2152
Label rim: UNAUTHORIZED SALE, BROADCASTING OR PERFOMANCE OF THIS SOUND RECORDING PROHIBITED and …CENSORSHIP BY K.E.C.P.P. - Performance misspelt here too
IMG_2151, IMG_2156
Label, side B: the same sand artwork and rim text, and no catalogue number and no tracklist at all
IMG_2153
Run-out, side A, stamped: EKPL 021 A
IMG_2154, IMG_2157
Run-out, side B, stamped: EKPL 021 B
IMG_2156
Insert, front: a four-page booklet, IRON MAIDEN / POWERSLAVE in black on grey
IMG_2143
Insert, inside: a Korean write-up on the band facing a black-and-white band photograph
IMG_2145
Insert, rear: the English lyrics with track timings, and EKPL-0021 / EJ 2402001 printed at the head
IMG_2144, IMG_2147
Inner sleeve: a plain plastic sleeve printed 제조발매원 · JiguRecord (the globe logo) · JIGU RE…
IMG_2149
Inner sleeve, second: a plain plastic sleeve printed CBS
IMG_2148
The photographs
IMG_2136.jpg1 of 22READ FROM
The object, and what marks it out
Sleeve, labels and inserts
- Outer sleeve - single, standard artwork, printed locally: the whole rear credit block is Korean-set, in a different typeface from every other copy on this shelf. Aged and foxed.
- Insert - the four-page booklet Discogs describes: a Korean write-up on the band over two pages, a band photograph, and the English lyrics with timings on the back, which carries
EKPL-0021andEJ 2402001. - Labels - the sand artwork reproduced locally and badly, with magenta and orange wedges where the four-colour separation has gone out of register. Both faces carry the same picture; only the A face carries any text beyond the rim.
- Vinyl - black.
- Two plastic inner sleeves, one printed
JIGU RECORDS CORPORATIONand one printedCBS- neither the EMI-branded sleeve Discogs says this release came in. Plastic sleeves are consumables that get swapped; this is recorded as what is in the folder, not as a property of the pressing.
What distinguishes this pressing
- A censorship line on the sleeve.
Registration No. 127 to the Ministry of Culture & Infomation. Passed Censorship by K.E.C.P.P.- the Korean Ethics Committee's approval, printed where a European sleeve prints a rights society. No other copy on this shelf had to be passed by anyone. - The same misspelling twice, in two different settings.
Infomationon the rear cover andPERFOMANCEon both label rims. Locally typeset, locally proofread. - A blank B label. Every catalogue number and the entire tracklist are on the A label; the B label carries the artwork and the rim warning and nothing else. Discogs names this as the release's characteristic, and it is not how any other pressing here is laid out.
- Three numbers stacked on the A label -
EKPL-0021,EJ 2402001,EJ 2402001a- the Korean catalogue number, the EMI international number and the EMI side-A number, all printed one under the other. (89. 11. 20)printed on the label. A dated label rather than a dated matrix, and it agrees to the day with the release date Discogs carries. It is also what makes this copy a 1989 reissue rather than a 1984 pressing: it is the only record in this folder-block that is not from the year of the album.MANUFACTURED BY JEIL RECORDS. EMI licensed it through Kemongsa; Jeil pressed it. The run-out carries no EMI matrix root at all - the lacquer was cut locally, which is whyEJ 2402001appears on the label and nowhere in the deadwax.- No
STERLINGand no cutting-room graffiti, which every Sterling-cut copy on this shelf carries and this one does not.
Eight tracks, two sides, and the recording credits
Side A
- A1Aces High
- A22 Minutes To Midnight
- A3Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)
- A4Flash Of The Blade
- A5The Duellists
Side B
- B1Back In The Village
- B2Powerslave
- B3Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
Bruce Dickinson - vocals · Dave Murray - lead and rhythm guitar · Adrian Smith - lead and rhythm guitar · Steve Harris - bass · Nicko McBrain - drums.
Produced, engineered and mixed by Martin Birch, assisted by Bruce Buchhalter and Frank Gibson. Mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound. Recorded at Compass Point Studios, Nassau; mixed at Electric Lady Studios, New York. Sleeve illustration by Derek Riggs; sleeve and design concept by Derek Riggs, Iron Maiden and Rod Smallwood. Photography by Moshe Brakha. Published by Zomba Music Publishers Ltd.
Personnel and studio credits are sourced from Discogs release 1846534, the UK original, and apply to the recording rather than to this pressing. The producer, publisher and copyright lines are independently corroborated by this copy's own label, quoted above.
Condition, from the photographs
A photograph cannot grade a record - this is a description of what is visible, not a grade.
- Sleeve: general handling wear with some edge and corner softening; no splits or seam separation visible in these shots.
- Vinyl: light surface marks and handling sheen catch the light. No visible deep scratches, warping or edge damage in these photographs. The labels are clean and unmarked.
Nothing on this page comes from playing the record. No Goldmine grade is claimed for it, or any other. I have no record of where this copy came from.
What is settled, and what is not
Confirmed. South Korea, EKPL-0021 and EJ 2402001 are certain from the A label and the insert, and the rear cover names EMI/Kemongsa and Jeil. The fetched version list holds nine Korean entries; only one is a licensed vinyl LP, and the seven unofficial ones fall away on the catalogue number before anything else is considered:
How the other candidates were ruled out
| Candidate | Verdict |
|---|---|
| 4454191 | Matches on every field these photographs can check. “All tracks and Cat numbers appear only on A side disc label as EKPL -0021, EJ 2402001, EJ2402001a. The B side label is devoid of cat numbers or track listing.” - which is this record exactly. “Registration number 127 from South Korean Ministry Of Culture printed on rear sleeve” - printed. “Total running time stated on rear of sleeve as 51:20” - stated. Run-outs EKPL 021 A / EKPL 021 B - stamped. Released 1989-11-20, and the label prints (89. 11. 20). |
| 7065974 | Ruled out on format: the cassette of the same release, EKPC - 0021 / TC EJ 2402001. |
| 5123132, 5926580, 12491523 | Ruled out on the catalogue number: 152, on High Stereo Light, all three filed as Unofficial Release. |
| 12601358, 37540107 | Ruled out on the catalogue number: HM 55, filed as Unofficial Release. |
| 12560851 | Ruled out on the catalogue number: 60418-1-E on Awlum Records, filed as Unofficial Release. |
| 13524343 | Ruled out on format: a CD, EKPD-1583. |
One field disagrees, and it is deliberately not held against the grade. 4454191 says “Disc is supplied in a plastic E.M.I. record sleeve”. This disc came in a plastic sleeve printed JIGU RECORDS CORPORATION, with a second one printed CBS in the folder beside it. A plastic inner sleeve is a consumable - it gets swapped when it splits, and a record thirty-six years old has had opportunities - so it is recorded above as what is in the folder rather than treated as a conflict about which record this is. Nothing else about the copy depends on it.
Standing caveat: this method cannot exclude a pressing absent from Discogs. The version list is incomplete by construction, so a single surviving candidate is a best match, not a proof of uniqueness.
Open, and only for completeness: the approval line. The rear cover's last line is 8907 followed by two L-prefixed groups; the final group reads L4916 and the middle one is not resolved in any frame. Discogs records the release's KECPP approval nos as 8907~L4909~L4916, so the middle group is very likely L4909 - but it is quoted here as unresolved rather than filled in from the entry, because the entry is what this copy is being checked against and copying a value across in the middle of that check is how a match gets manufactured. A macro shot of that one line would close it.