Flag of South Korea - Colours, Meaning, History ??

The flag of South Korea is also called Taegukgi, which means the supreme, ultimate flag. The flag features three parts put together: (1) white rectangular background, (2) red and blue Taegeuk, which is a symbol of the universal balance, in relation to the concept of Yin and Yang; and (3) four black trigrams from the original eight, one pointing toward each corner. These trigrams accentuate the yin-yang character and are also representative of the seasons in South Korea. The flag was adopted on January 25, 1950. The white background in the flag represents peace and unity.

History of the Flag of South Korea

Interestingly, Korea did not have an official state flag before 1876, as the country did not think it essential to have a flag. During the negotiations for the Japan-Korea treaty in 1876, the Japanese had a flag while the Koreans didn’t have an official flag. Even after this event, the Korean government did not put much consideration into producing a flag, until there were many negotiations with other nations.

Thus, there was a proposal to create a flag with Korea merging some aspects of the Chinese Qing dynasty with their own. This was still deferred until it re-emerged as an issue during the United States-Korea treaty of 1882. In 1882, Park Yeong Hyo created the very first version of the Taegukgi and was the first person to use it in Japan.

The year after, the government promoted it to be the official flag of Korea. The government of South Korea declared the current flag as the official one in 1949 after the separation of North and South Korea.

What is the meaning behind the colours of the South Korean Flag?

The flag of South Korea is impressively unique even among the flags of the world. It is composed of a field of white, the yin-yang symbol of balance at its center, and four trigrams squared around the yin-yang.

The field of white represents peace and purity. The white is also symbolic of the traditional Korean white attire which is worn to express the same ideology of peace and purity. The yin-yang is symbolic of universal balance that should always be maintained. It is half blue and half red, with blue representing the negative cosmic energies and red representing the positive cosmic forces. The flag also consists of trigrams which represent the movements of the yin-yang. Hard to notice but the trigrams are also fitting of each other which accentuates the yin-yang effect of the flag.

Interesting Facts About the South Korean Flag

The flag became a necessity when the Chinese and Japanese empires started invading the Joseon empire.
Park Yeong Hyo was the hero who designed the flag and the first person to use it while in Japan.
The flag contains the color white which is a symbol of peace and purity. It is also a traditional color of the Korean people. The color is used to make the traditional dress called Hanbok.
The center circle represents the concept of the yin-yang, with the red color representing positive forces and the blue color representing negative forces.
The flag was used in both South Korea and North Korea until they separated and North Korea introduced a different flag in 1948.
Despite the current relations between North and South Korea, they have a unified flag used in occasions such as sporting events, with both nations participating.
The trigrams represent more than just the yin-yang concept. They also represent four elements: sun, moon, earth, and heaven in four directions and seasons.

Do you know any other interesting facts about the flag of South Korea? Share your thoughts below.