Flag of South Korea

The flag of South Korea has three parts: a white background; a red and blue taeguk in the center; and four trigrams, one in each corner of the flag. In Korean, the flag is called the Taegeukgi. It was designed in 1882 during the reign of King Gojong by Bak Yeong-hyo, the Korean ambassador to Japan. Gojong proclaimed the Taegeukgi to be the official flag of Korea on 6 March 1883.

The symbolism of the flag comes from the Taoist concepts of yin and yang (pronounced "Eum Yang," in Korean). The white background symbolizes peace. The taeguk, known as taijitu in Chinese, represents the origin of all things in the universe; holding the two principles of "Eum", the negative aspect rendered in blue, and "Yang", the positive aspect rendered in red, in perfect balance. Together, they represent a continuous movement within infinity, the two merging as one. The four black trigrams in the corners of the white field are from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes, called "Yeok Gyeong" in Korean) .

The four trigrams are:

||| Force (☰; geon (건; 乾) in Korean) = heaven (天), spring(春), east(東), virtue(仁);
¦¦¦ Field (☷; gon (곤; 坤)) = earth (地), summer(夏), west(西), justice(義);
|¦| Radiance (☲; ri (리; 離)) = sun(日), fall(秋), south(南), courtesy(禮);
¦|¦ Gorge (☵; gam (감; 坎)) = moon(月), winter(冬), north(北), knowledge or wisdom(智).

In Chinese philosophy, the eight trigrams are related to the Five Elements of fire, water, earth, wood, and metal. An analogy could also be drawn with the four western classical elements.

History

Specifications

Official colours given by the Office of the President are:

Scheme	Blue	Red
CIE (x, y, Y)	0.1556, 0.1354, 6.5	0.5640, 0.3194, 15.3
Munsell	5.0PB 3.0/12	6.0R 4.5/14
Pantone*	294	186

* approximate.

External links

http://english.president.go.kr/warp/en/korea/symbols/flag/ Accessed 6 February 2006. Source of colour specifications.
http://www.opm.go.kr/warp/en/korea/symbols/ Accessed 6 February 2006
http://www.korea.net/korea/kor_loca.asp?code=A0401 Accessed 6 February 2006
http://www.songpr.com/
Chosun Ilbo article on history of flag

National flags | Culture of South Korea

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History

Specifications

External links