Interesting Facts About South Korea Flag

Among the flags of the world, the flag of South Korea is wonderfully unique. It comprises a white field with the yin-yang symbol of balance in the middle and four trigrams squared around it. The white field symbolises purity and peace. White is also a symbol of traditional Korean white clothing, which expresses the same peace and purity ideology. The yin-yang represents universal equilibrium, which the flag should maintain. It’s half blue, half red, with the blue symbolising negative cosmic energy and the red signifying positive cosmic forces. Read the full article to understand facts about South Korea’s flag.

Some Facts About the South Korean Flag

The flag of South Korea has red, blue, and black colours on a white backdrop. The flag represents three aspects of a country are as follows:

• The land (white background)
• The people (red and blue circle)
• The government (red and blue circle) 

The breadth and height are 3:2 in proportion. The Taegeukgi and the four groupings of bars are divided into five divisions on the flag. The circle’s diameter is half of its height. The top and bottom of the Taegeukgi should be red and blue, respectively. The bar groupings are placed in the flag’s four corners. 

Although it was formed in 1882, its symbols are among the earliest found on any flag. Around the late 19th century, a demand for a national flag arose in Korea. The country steadily opened its borders to external influences in response to pressure from its powerful neighbours, China and Japan. The new flag’s design included traditional motifs adopted in August of 1882 and has remained the primary pattern.

The part of the flag represents the opposing forces of nature. The red and blue circle in the centre of the flag is known in Korean as taegeuk, which means “absolute supremacy.” The circle is cut into two halves, one of which resembles a comma and the other a semicolon. Yang forces are represented by the top, red section, while the lower, blue part represents the um forces.

Old South Korea’s Flag

The flag adopted in the 1800s was the Joseon Dynasty’s standard, which ruled the Kingdom of Joseon for five centuries. A peach border with black triangles surrounds a crimson field. Let’s discuss some facts about South Korea’s flag.

In 1882, the Korean Empire approved a flag with a white field, four unspecified trigrams in the centre, and a blue and red taegeuk emblem. Japan seized control of Korea in 1910, and a flag with a white field and a crimson sun was adopted. 

After World War II, the Koreans regained control and established an interim administration known as the United States Army Military Government of Korea in the south. The Korean Empire’s flag was re-adopted. During this time, Koreans also hoisted the United States of America flag. The flag’s trigrams were written into the constitution in 1948. Water, heaven, earth, and fire are listed from top right to bottom left. Korea established the colours of the taegeuk emblem in 1997.

History of South Korea’s Flag

When the Chinese and Japanese empires invaded the Joseon empire, the flag became a necessity. Park Yeong Hyo was the person who invented the flag and was the first to deploy it while in Japan. The yin-yang idea is represented in the centre circle, with red representing positive and blue representing negative forces. White is used on the flag to symbolise peace and purity. It is also Korea’s traditional colour. The hue is utilised to create the Hanbok, traditional Korean clothing. Both South and North Korea flew the flag until 1948, when they separated, and North Korea adopted a new flag. The flag’s trigrams were written into the constitution in 1948. 

Despite the current state of relations between North and South Korea, they have a combined flag flown at sporting events in which both countries compete. The trigrams represent more than only the yin-yang principle. And they also represent four elements in four directions: the sun, moon, earth, and heaven.

Conclusion

Only four are featured on the Korean flag among the eight trigrams found in the I-Ching, or Book of Changes, one of the oldest Confucian classics on Chinese cosmology. The four trigrams represent the cosmos’ dualistic nature, and the flag also includes trigrams that reflect the yin movements. In this article, we read the history of South Korea’s flag and also explored various facts about the South Korea flag.