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Flag of South Korea
Flag ratio: 2:3
Korean name
Hangul:	태극기
Hanja:	太極旗
Revised Romanization:	Taegeukgi
McCune-Reischauer:	T'aegŭkki

The flag of South Korea has three parts: a white background; a red and blue taeguk in the center; and four black trigrams, one in each corner of the flag. In Korean, the flag is called the Taegeukgi. The design of the flag was reportedly suggested by Qing Dynasty diplomat Ma Jianzhong in 1882 during the reign of King Gojong, ^[1] and was designed by Bak Yeong-hyo, the Korean ambassador to Japan. Gojong proclaimed the Taegeukgi to be the official flag of Korea on 6 March 1883.

The symbol of taeguk originally came from the Chinese book ZhouYi or 周易, representing the four Chinese philosophical ideas about the universe: harmony, symmetry, balance, circulation. Since the Chinese had heavy influence on the Korean culture, the symbolism of the flag also comes from traditional use of the Taegeuk symbol by Koreans since the early era of Korean history. The white background symbolizes "cleaness of the people." The taeguk, known as taiji in Chinese, represents the origin of all things in the universe; holding the two principles of "Eum", 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), west (西), justice (義);
• |¦| Radiance (☲; ri (리; 離)) = sun (日), fall (秋), south (南), 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.

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

Old designs of Korean flags.

The taegeukgi was used as a symbol of resistance and the independence movement 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).

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Official colours given by the Office of the President are:

* approximate.

1. ^ http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/kr_hist.html

• List of South Korean flags

• 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=A0401 Accessed 6 February 2006
• http://www.songpr.com/
• Chosun Ilbo article on history of flag