The Korean Flag // Symbolism and Significance Explained

The Spirit of Korea: Discover the Meaning Behind the Korean Flag!

🇰🇷 A national flag is a fascinating topic to explore, as it embodies a wealth of historical symbols and cultural significance, and the Korean flag is no exception.

This flag is composed of various elements, each representing profound meanings that reflect the nation’s identity and values.

Understanding these components allows us to appreciate not only the flag itself but also the rich history and heritage of Korea that it symbolizes.

Each part of the flag tells a story, making it a powerful emblem of national pride and unity.

Let’s dive deeper into the meaning and symbols behind the Koran national flag.

⬇️ Interested in something specific? Clicking on the link will bring you to your preferred section!

The Korean Flag | The Design of the Korean Flag

The Korean Flag | History of the Korean Flag

The Korean Flag | 국화 (guk-hwa) – National Flower

The Korean Flag | 애국가 (ae-guk-ga) – National Anthem

The Korean Flag | Quiz

The Korean Flag | FAQs

The Design of the Korean Flag

🇰🇷 태극기 (taegeukgi) is the name of the national flag of Republic of Korea.

It has quite a distinct design represented by its four colors: white, black, red, and blue.

The white background symbolizes brightness, purity, and peace, which are the three main qualities Koreans highly value. The circle in the middle Koreans call 태극 (taegeuk) derives from the ancient philosophy of Yin and Yang. 

Let’s touch an a little about the ideology of Yin and Yang.

Yinyang in eastern philosophy represents the two complementary forces that form all aspects of life.

Yin symbolizes earth, feminity, darkness, passivity, and absorption. It appears in even numbers, in valleys and streams, and is represented by the tiger, the color orange, and a broken line. 

On the other hand, yang is associated with heaven, masculinity, light, activity, and penetration.

It appears in odd numbers, in the mountains, and is represented by the dragon, the color azure, and an unbroken line.

Both yin and yang are believed to originate from the Supreme Ultimate, also called taiji or 태극 (taeguk) in Korean. Their interactions, where one increases as the other decreases, are seen as a description of the actual process of the universe and everything within it. When in harmony, the two are depicted as the light and dark halves of a circle.

Following the harmony of nature and human events of this very philosophy, the Korean flag is depicted with the 음 (eum) or Yin in English and 양(yang) also Yang in English in blue and red portions at the center of the flag. This makes up a ‘supreme ultimate’ from the Yin (negative forces) and the Yang (positive forces) to create unity.  The two opposite forces, blue and red are interconnected representing balance in life. 

The four sets of lines placed on the outer part of the flag also carry significant meanings.

These sets are called trigrams that also connects to the philosophical belief in the harmonic circle of the universe.

The trigrams could be a set of three full or broken lines. They were often used as a set of eight in Daoist traditions. The 건 (geon) symbolizes the sky, the 곤 (gon) represents Earth, 감 (gam) represents water, and lastly the 리 (ri) represents fire. 

During the Joseon dynasty, the Taegeuk and eight trigrams were often used as processional flags to show the king’s authority and understanding of the harmonious spirit of the cosmos.

The flag design was later reinterpreted in the early twentieth century to represent the Korean nation-state and its identity.

History of the Korean Flag

🇰🇷 The decision to create a national flag for Korea came after the Korea-United States Treaty of 1882. A national flag was needed to represent Korea as a country to create diplomatic relations with the Western nations. Therefore King Gojong decided that a national flag was needed.

Gojong was originally credited for creating the Korean flag, but he was mainly the commissioner and not the actual creator of the flag. The original design ideas for the 태극기(taegeukgi) came from 이응준 (Lee Eung-Jun) making modifications primarily to the coloring of the flag.

Finally, in August 1882, a politician named 박영효(Park Yeong-hyo)
presented a model of the flag to the government.

This version of the flag became recognized as Korea’s official flag. Thus, Park Yeong-Hyo has since become the person credited as having created the first national flag of Korea. It officially became the national flag on March 6, 1883.

But then came a problem.

Since this was the first national flag, there wasn’t a strict guideline on the design of the flag. Therefore, many variations existed, thus raising the need to create a specific guideline. Finally, in 1942, the national flag style guide was established. Further, in January 1949, the National Flag Correction Committee was formed to standardize and stabilize the flag construction. 

국화 (guk-hwa) – National Flower

🇰🇷 The 무궁화 (mugunghwa), also known as the rose of Sharon, holds a special place in the hearts of Koreans.

Its name, which means “eternal blossom that never fades,” reflects its significance as a symbol of Korean culture. Records from ancient times reveal that even before the Gojoseon era, the 무궁화 (mugunghwa) was revered as a “blossom from heaven.” 

This special flower was a symbolic flower not just to Koreans, but to neighboring countries. The ancient Chinese also referred to Korea as the “land of wise men where the 무궁화 (mugunghwa) blooms.” Over time, public affection for the mugunghwa grew stronger, especially when a phrase extolling the flower’s beauty was included in the national anthem in the late 19th century. 

Those words are:

Play 무궁화 삼천리 화려 강산 (Mugunghwa sam-cheon-li hwa-ryeo gang-san) 

English: Three thousand ri* of splendid rivers and mountains covered with mugunghwa blossoms

*Ri is equivalent to 1,200 kilometers, the length of the Korean Peninsula. 

Hence, it was only natural for the government to
adopt it as the national flower after Korea.

애국가 (ae-guk-ga) – National Anthem

🇰🇷 The national anthem in Korean is Play 애국가 (ae-guk-ga).

If we literally translate 애국가 (ae-guk-ga):

So it translates to song of patriotism.

The Korean anthem was written and composed by 안익태 (Ahn Eak-tai). The initial national anthem of Korea was sung with the melody of a Scottish song called ‘Auld Lang Syne.’

안익태 (Ahn Eak-tai) felt that a Korean national anthem being sung in a foreign melody didn’t feel right. He then created an original melody that resonated well with the lyrics. It was adopted as the national anthem in 1948 when Korea was founded.

National flags, flowers, or anthems, bring a country together reminding us of our history and identity. I hope that the next time you meet a Korean friend, you can discuss the Korean flag and the meaning behind it. This would be a great conversation starter!

USEFUL VOCABULARY
👇 We should have you pretty well covered with the following vocabulary and phrases:

Don’t forget to check out our Flexi Classes & our Korean Blog

👉 Black day in Korean

👉 White day in Korean

👉 How to say Good Morning in Korean

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