27 January 1883; 142 years ago (1883-01-27) (original version, used by the Joseon dynasty) 29 June 1942; 82 years ago (1942-06-29) (during Japanese occupation, by the exiledProvisional Government of the Republic of Korea) 12 July 1948; 76 years ago (1948-07-12) (for South Korea, by theConstituent National Assembly) 15 October 1949; 75 years ago (1949-10-15) (current geometry) 30 May 2011; 13 years ago (2011-05-30) (current colors)
Design
A white field with a centered red and bluetaegeuk surrounded by fourtrigrams
Thenational flag of South Korea, also known as theTaegeukgi (Korean: 태극기;Hanja: 太極旗), consists of three components: a white rectangular background, a red and bluetaegeuk in its center, accompanied by four blacktrigrams, one in each corner. The predecessors to the currentTaegeukgi were used as the national flag of Korea by theJoseon dynasty, theKorean Empire, as well as theKorean government-in-exile during Japanese rule. South Korea adoptedTaegeukgi for its national flag in 1948.
In 1876, the absence of anational flag became an issue for Korea, at the time reigned over by theJoseon dynasty. Before 1876, Korea did not have a national flag, but the king had his own royal standard. The lack of a national flag became a quandary during negotiations for theJapan–Korea Treaty of 1876, at which the delegate ofJapan displayed theJapanese national flag, whereas the Joseon dynasty had no corresponding national symbol to exhibit. At that time, some proposed to create a national flag, but the Joseon government looked upon the matter as unimportant and unnecessary. By 1880, the proliferation of foreign negotiations led to the need for a national flag.[1] The most popular proposal was described in the "Korea Strategy" papers, written by the Chinese delegateHuang Zunxian. It proffered to incorporate theflag of the Qing dynasty of China into that of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. In response to the Chinese proposal, the Joseon government dispatched delegate Lee Young-Sook to consider the scheme with Chinese statesman and diplomatLi Hongzhang. Li agreed with some elements of Huang's suggestion while accepting that Korea would make some alterations. TheQing government assented to Li's conclusions, but the degree of enthusiasm with which the Joseon government explored this proposal is unknown.[2]
The issue remained unpursued for a period but reemerged with the negotiation of theUnited States–Korea Treaty of 1882, also known as the Shufeldt Treaty. The U.S. emissaryRobert Wilson Shufeldt suggested that Korea adopt a national flag to represent its sovereignty. The king of Joseon,Kojong, ordered government officialsSin Heon [ko] andKim Hong-jip to begin working on a new flag. Kim Hong-jip in turn asked delegateLee Eung-jun [ko] to create the first design, which Lee Eung-jun presented to the Chinese officialMa Jianzhong. Ma Jianzhong argued against Huang Zunxian's proposal that Korea adopt the flag of the Qing dynasty, and proposed a modified dragon flag.[2] Kojong rejected this idea.[3] Ma suggested Lee Eung-jun'sTaegeuk andEight Trigrams flag.[4] It is sometimes claimed that Kim and Ma proposed changes to it on 27 May 1882 (Lunar date April 11): Kim proposed changing the red to blue and white; Ma proposed a white field, a red and blacktaegeuk, trigrams in black, and a red border. However, since the Taguk flag was already in use during the signing of theJoseon–United States Treaty of 1882 on 22 May 1882, The Taeguk flag design was already established and in use prior to Ma's proposal.[2] In September 1882, Pak Yŏnghyo presented ascale model fortaegukgi to the Joseon government, it was created in cooperate with Kim Man-sik,Soh Kwang-pom and others with advice from British consulWilliam George Aston and British captain James, later Gojong approved the design. Pak Yŏnghyo became the first person to use thetaegukgi in 1882.[5][6][7] The 2 October 1882 issue of the Japanese newspaperJiji shimpō [ja] credited Gojong as the designer of thetaegukgi (i.e., a flag with a red and bluetaegeuk and four trigrams).[8][unbalanced opinion?] On 27 January 1883, the Joseon government officially promulgated thetaegukgi to be used as the official national flag.[2]
In 1919, a flag similar to the current South Korean flag was used by theKorean government-in-exile based inChina. The termtaegukgi began to be used in 1942. Thetaeguk andtaegukgi grew as powerful symbols of independence in the 1,500 demonstrations during colonial rule.
The northern portion of Korea also used thetaegukgi even during thepartition of Korea in 1945. It was used until thenew design was adopted in September 1948.[12][13][14]
On 21 February 1984, exact dimensional specifications and etiquettes for the flag were codified.[15][16][17][18][19] On 15 October 1997, a precise color scheme for the flag was fixed via presidential decree for the first time.[10][20]
The flag's field is white, a traditional color inKorean culture that was common in the daily attire of 19th-century Koreans and still appears in contemporary versions of traditional Korean garments such as thehanbok. The color represents peace and purity.[10]
Together, thetrigrams[a] represent movement and harmony as fundamental principles. Each trigram represents one of the fourclassical elements,[21] as described below:
The name of the South Korean flag is used in the title of a 2004 film about theKorean War,Taegukgi.[22]
A Taegukgi with the word不遠復[b] appeared in a 2011 filmMy Way.[23][24]
A Taegukgi with the word大韓獨立[c] appeared in a stage musicalHero.[25]
Observers such asThe Times Literary Supplement's Colin Marshall and Korea scholarBrian Reynolds Myers have noted that the South Korean flag in the context of the country's society is often used as anethnic flag, representing a grander nationalistic idea of aracialized (Korean) people rather than merely symbolizing the (South Korean) state itself as national flags do in other countries.[26][27] Myers argues that: "When the average [South Korean] man sees the [South Korean] flag, he feels fraternity with [ethnic] Koreans around the world."[28] Myers also stated in a 2011 thesis that: "Judging from the yin-yang flag's universal popularity in South Korea, even among those who deny the legitimacy of the Republic of Korea, it evidently evokes the [Korean] race first and the [South Korean] state second."[29]
The width and height are in the ratio of 3:2. There are five sections on the flag, thetaegeuk and the four groups of bars (trigrams). The diameter of thetaegeuk is half of the height of the flag. The top of thetaegeuk is red and the bottom of thetaegeuk is blue. The width of each trigram is the radius of thetaegeuk. The distance betweentaegeuk and four trigrams is half of the radius of thetaegeuk. The design of thetaegeuk, as well as the trigrams residing in each of the four corners, are geometrically defined.[30]
Darker version of the flag using RGB approximations of semiofficial Pantone approximations,[31] and also the official 1997–2011 color scheme.
The colors of thetaegukgi are specified in theOrdinance Act of the Law concerning the National Flag of the Republic of Korea (Korean:대한민국 국기법 시행령).[32] The color scheme was unspecified until 1997, when theSouth Korean government decided to standardize specifications for the flag. On 25 October 1997, aPresidential ordinance on the standard specification of the South Korean flag was promulgated,[33][unreliable source?][34] and that specification was acceded by theNational Flag Law in July 2007.
Colors are defined in legislation by theMunsell andCIE color systems as follows:
Apart from these days, the Government of South Korea and local authorities in South Korea also call for the display oftaegukgi in other days under special conditions.
The South Korean flag is considered by a large part of the country's citizens to represent the "Korean ethnos" rather than solely the South Korean state; consequentlyflag desecration by the country's citizens is rare when compared to other countries[which?], where citizens may desecrate their own national flags as political statements. Thus those South Korean citizens opposed to the state's actions or even its existence will still treat their national flag with reverence and respect: "There is therefore none of the parodying or deliberate desecration of the state flag that one encounters in the countercultures of other countries."[29]
Regardless of frequency, the South KoreanCriminal Act punishes desecration of the South Korean national flag in various ways:[37]
Article 105 imposes up to 5 years in prison,disfranchisement of up to 10 years, or a fine up to 7 millionSouth Korean won for damaging, removing, or staining a South Korean flag oremblem with intent to insult the South Korean state. Article 5 makes this crime punishable, even if done by aliens outside South Korea.[37]
Article 106 imposes up to 1 year in prison, disfranchisement of up to 5 years, or a fine up to 2 million South Korean won fordefaming a South Korean flag or emblem with intent to insult the South Korean state. Article 5 makes this crime punishable, even if done by aliens outside South Korea.[37]
South Korea also criminalizes not just desecration of the South Korean flag, but the flags of other countries as well:
Article 109 imposes up to 2 years in prison or a fine up to 3 million South Korean won for damaging, removing, or staining a foreign flag or emblem with intent to insult a foreign country. Article 110 forbidsprosecution without foreign governmental complaint.[37]
^Kim, Tu-bong (20 August 1948).新國旗의 製定과 太極旗의 廢止에 對하여 [On the establishment of the new national flag and the abolition of Taegukgi](PDF). Pyongyang: Rodong News Agency. p. 56. Retrieved12 May 2025.
^Choi, Chongko (1999).남북한(南北韓)의 국가상징(國家象徵)과 법(法) [National Symbols of South and North Korea and Their Laws](PDF).Korea Society of Unification and North Korean Law Studies.40 (3): 100.Archived(PDF) from the original on 26 August 2024. Retrieved16 August 2024.
^Archived atGhostarchive and theWayback Machine:O'Carroll, Chad (2014)."BR Myers – Current Issues".YouTube. Retrieved11 September 2017.[T]he South Korean flag continues to function, at least in South Korea, not as a symbol of the state but as a symbol of the race.
^ab"National Flag".infokorea.ru. The Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Moscow. Archived from the original on 18 January 2012. Retrieved6 August 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^대한민국국기법 시행령 [The law concerning practice for the flag of the Republic of Korea] (in Korean). Government of the Republic of Korea. Retrieved6 August 2017.
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![Taegukgi published in a Qing diplomatic book Tōngshāng Zhāngchéng Chéng'àn Huìbiān (通商章程成案彙編), edited by Li Hongzhang (March 1883).[e]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3a%25E5%25A4%25A7%25E6%25B7%25B8%25E5%259C%258B%25E5%25B1%25AC_%25E9%25AB%2598%25E9%25BA%2597%25E5%259C%258B%25E6%2597%2597.jpg)
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![Flag of Korean protestors used during the March First Movement (1919)[f]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aFlag_by_Pyongyang_Soongsil_School_(1919).svg)
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