South Korea

Republic of Korea
Flag of South Korea
Adopted	27 January 1883 (original version, used by the Joseon dynasty) 29 June 1942 (Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea) 12 July 1948 (as the flag of South Korea) 15 October 1949 (current geometry) 30 May 2011 (current colors)
Wikipedia article
Flags of the World article

The national flag of the Republic of Korea, also known as the Taegeukgi (Korean: 태극기), , has three parts: a white rectangular background, a red and blue taegeuk in its center, accompanied by four black trigrams, one in each corner. Flags similar to the current Taegeukgi were used as the national flag of Korea by the Joseon dynasty, the Korean Empire, as well as the Korean government-in-exile during Japanese rule. South Korea adopted Taegeukgi for its national flag in 1948.

Symbolism

The flag's field is white, a traditional color in Korean culture that was common in the daily attire of 19th-century Koreans and still appears in contemporary versions of traditional Korean garments such as the hanbok. The color represents peace and purity.

The circle in the flag's center symbolizes balance in the world. Derived from the Chinese I Ching and Taiji (philosophy), known in the west as the Yin and Yang, the blue half represents negative energy (Yin), and the red half represents the positive energy (Yang).

Together, the trigrams represent movement and harmony as fundamental principles. Each trigram represents one of the four classical elements, as described below:

• "☰" = heaven, spring, east, humanity, father, justice
• "☲" = sun, autumn, south, righteousness, daughter, fire, fruition
• "☵" = moon, winter, north, intelligence, son, water, wisdom
• "☷" = earth, summer, west, courtesy, mother, vitality

Historical Flags

Royal standard of the Joseon dynasty (1882–1907)

Taegukgi published in U.S. Navy book Flags of Maritime Nations in July 1882.

Taegukgi by O. N. Denny (1888).

1888 flag

Taegukgi by O. N. Denny (1888).

The flag of the Korean Empire (1897–1910)

Flag of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea used in 1919 during the March 1st Movement.

Flag of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea from 1919 to 1948 used in exile in China.

A marching flag kept by the commander of the Independence Army.

The flag of the People's Republic of Korea from August 1945 to December 1945, when the USAMGIK outlawed the PRK.

The flag of southern Korea from 1945 to 1948; this flag is similar to the current South Korean flag with the exception of two of the four kwaes (trigrams) and a smaller version of the Taegeuk.

1948–1949

1984–1997

1997–2011

Other Flags

Korean Unification Flag.

Flag proposals

Korea flag redesign by Seatomint, Dec 2024.

Design by Flag Mashup Bot. The two blue stripes symbolize the two seas that surround the Korean Peninsula to the east and west: The Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea. White symbolizes snow-capped mountaintops, like that found on Mount Paektu's summit. Red can symbolize either the Korean Peninsula itself, or blood (specifically that of the "Korean race" [i.e. minjok]), which factors heavily in contemporary Korean nationalism.

Flag redesign by Laqueesha. Colors derived from the Korean traditional Sam-Taegeuk. the Korean-style Sam-Taegeuk symbol used in Korean Shamanism, Neo-Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism. Blue is Heaven, Red is Earth, Yellow is Humanity.

Flag redesign by Laqueesha. Colors derived from the Korean traditional Sam-Taegeuk. the Korean-style Sam-Taegeuk symbol used in Korean Shamanism, Neo-Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism. Blue is Heaven, Red is Earth, Yellow is Humanity.

Design by Flag Mashup Bot. A recurring motif of two stripes symbolize the two halves of the Korean Peninsula, and yin-yang. The two blue stripes symbolize the two seas to the east and west: The Sea of Japan and the Yellow Sea. The single white stripe symbolizes that Koreans are "one pure-blooded race" (i.e. danil minjok). Yellow symbolizes China, alluding to Korea's long history of interaction with China.

The red, blue, yellow, and back rectangles represent bricks in a wall, which form the name's original meaning consisting of a combination of the adjectives ("high, lofty") with the name of a local Yemaek tribe, whose original name is thought to have been either "Guru" (溝樓, 'Walled City', inferred from some toponyms in Chinese historical documents) or "Gauri" (가우리, 'Center').