Flag of South Korea

Flag of South Korea

Name	Taegeukgi
Use	National flag and civil and state ensign.
Proportion	2:3
Adopted	March 6, 1883
Use	Naval ensign.
Proportion	2:3
Adopted	September, 1955

The earliest surviving depiction of the flag was printed in a U.S. Navy book Flags of Maritime Nations in July 1882.

The flag of South Korea, or Taegukgi has three parts: a white background; a red and blue taegeuk (taijitu or "yin-yang") in the center; and four black trigrams, one in each corner of the flag. The flag was designed by Bak Yeong-hyo, the Korean ambassador to Japan. King Gojong proclaimed the Taegeukgi to be the official flag of Korea on March 6, 1883.

The four trigrams originate in the Chinese book I Ching, representing the four Chinese philosophical ideas about the universe: harmony, symmetry, balance, circulation. The general design of the flag also derives from traditional use of the tricolor symbol (red, blue and yellow) by Koreans starting from the early era of Korean history. The white background symbolizes "cleanliness of the people." The taegeuk represents the origin of all things in the universe; holding the two principles of "Yin", 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 trigrams are:

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

Traditionally, the four 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.

Name

Although the revised official Romanization is Taegeukgi, the word Taegukgi has been used in English-speaking countries historically. The name of the Korean flag shows the world's elements on one flag and the balance between light and dark. Therefore, the flag is a symbol of our planet.

History

The red and blue symbol has an origin that is entirely secular. It is derived by graphing the length of the sun's shadow. (If the series of lines are drawn radiating from the middle, as if regularly rotating a parchment impaled by a small shadow-casting stick each day, the design becomes apparent.)

Although affiliated with Taoism and called a "Yin-Yang" symbol today, its placement on the flag honors a venerable tradition of accurate record-keeping for the public benefit instated by King Sejong in the 13th century. Unlike the modern version, the depiction on the oldest flag is clearly true to the actual graph.

     -----      -- --
     -----      -----
     -----      -- --

     -----      -- --
     -- --      -- --
     -----      -- --

The original flag, dating to 1883, shows them placed as below. This version respects the four European directions with which their elements are traditionally affiliated. "Water" is at upper left; "Heaven" is at upper right; "Earth" is at lower left; "Fire" is at lower right. (In Asian tradition, however, Heaven is usually associated with north-west, and Earth is usually associated with south-west. See also Bagua.)

     -- --      -----
N    -----      -----   E
     -- --      -----

     -- --      -----
W    -- --      -- --   S
     -- --      -----

The taegeukgi was used as a symbol of resistance and independence during the Japanese occupation and ownership of it was punishable by execution. After independence, both North and South Korea initially adopted versions of the taegeukgi, but North Korea later changed its national flag to a more Soviet-inspired design after three years (See article Flag of North Korea).

Specifications

Design

Flag construction sheet

Colors

The official colours of Taegukgi are specified on the "Ordinance Act of the Law concerning the National Flag of the Republic of Korea(대한민국국기법시행령)[1]".^[1][2] There was no specification for shade of colours until 1997, when South Korean government decided to provide standard specification for the flag. On October, 1997, Presidential ordinance on the standard specification of the flag of the Republic of Korea was promulgated^[3], and that specification was acceeded by the National Flag Law in 2007.

The colours are defined in legislation by the Munsell and CIE colour systems:

* Unofficial conversions by Wikipedia editors. Pantone colours are estimated values from the original Munsell specification and in turn the RGB is from the Pantone.

Errors

The South Korean flag is sometimes drawn differently from the official version. Sometimes the taegeuki is reversed to make it a taoist Yin-Yang, which traditionally goes clockwise. The gwae may be transposed, possibly in error but possibly because they wish to restore the traditional Asian meanings. South Koreans themselves have different ways of interpreting the traditional symbols.

References

See also

• List of South Korean flags
• Korean Unification Flag
• Taiji

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=L05 Accessed 27 July 2008
• http://www.songpr.com/
• Chosun Ilbo article on history of flag