The National Flag - Taegeukgi
Origin
Following the trend for modern states to adopt national flags, the
decision to create a national flag for Korea emerged with the ratification
of the Korea-United States Treaty of 1882. No accurate records remain of
the Korean flag chosen for use at the signing ceremony; however, some
argue that the flag was similar to the ensign flag featured in the Flags of
Maritime Nations issued by the U.S.
Navy Department’s Bureau of Navigation and found in 2004.
In his capacity as Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary under King
Gojong, Park Yeong-hyo kept a record of his diplomatic mission to Japan
in 1882. According to his journal, known as Sahwagiryak, in September of
that year while aboard the ship to Japan, Park created a four-trigram flag
with a taegeuk circle (instead of the flag with eight black bars that had
been used prior to 1800). The flag was used from September 25, 1882,
according to Park’s report to the government on October 3 of that year.
By royal order on March 6, 1883, King Gojong promulgated that Park’s
flag with a taegeuk circle in the center and four trigrams around it (the
flag named Taegeukgi) be the national flag. However, due to a lack of
specific guidelines, the flag design took different forms. On June 29, 1942,
the Provisional Government issued a national flag style guide to ensure
that subsequent flags would be created in a consistent manner. Despite
these efforts, however, ordinary people were unaware of these
guidelines.After the establishment of the Republic of Korea on August 15,
1948, the government felt an increasing need to standardize flag
construction. Thus in January 1949, it formed the National Flag Correction
Committee, which announced the National Flag Construction Guidelines on October 15 of that year. A number of regulations were later implemented, providing for the systematic
management of the flag: the Act on the Flag of the Republic of Korea, enacted in January 2007; the Enforcement
Decree of the Act on the Flag of the Republic of Korea, in July 2007; and the Regulations on the Hoisting,
Management, and Promotion of the National Flag in September 2009 (by instructions from the Prime Minister).
Symbolism of the flag
The Taegeukgi consists of a white background, a red and blue taegeuk circle in the center, and four black
trigrams (collectively called geongongamri), one in each corner of the flag.
The white background represents brightness, purity, and peace, qualities that are highly valued by the people.
The taegeuk, which has long been a commonly used motif, denotes the harmony between the negative cosmic
forces (yin : blue portion) and the positive cosmic forces (yang : red portion), depicting the truth of nature that
all things are created and evolve through the interaction of yin and yang. The four black trigrams are specific
representations of the movement and harmony of these forces. In detail, the geon symbolizes the sky, the gon
the earth, the gam water, and the ri fire. Together, they create harmony around the taegeuk mark.
In short, the Taegeukgi flag embodies the vision of the Korean people who, like the universe, seek continuous
creation and enrichment. By upholding the spirit and significance of the Taegeukgi, the people seek to realize
unity and unification and contribute to the happiness and peace of humanity.
Construction of the Flag of Korea
- ① Diameter of circle x 3
- ② Diameter of circle x 2
- ③ Diameter of circle x 1/2
- ④ Length of flag x 1/2
- ⑤ Right angle (90 degrees)
- ⑥ Diameter of Circle x 1/24
- ⑦ Diameter of circle x 1/4
- ⑧ Diameter of circle x 1/3
- ⑨ Diameter of circle x 1/12
Pledge of allegiance to the flag (revised on July 27, 2007)
I, standing before the noble Taegeukgi, solemnly pledge allegiance to the Republic of Korea, to its glory, liberty and justice.
