Flag of South Korea

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Template:Korean name image hanja The flag of South Korea is white with a red (top) and blue Yin Yang symbol in the center; there is a different black trigram from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes, called "Ju Yeok" in Korean) in each corner of the white field. In Korean, the flag is called the Taegeukgi. It was designed in 1882 during the reign of King Gojong 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 symbolism of the flag comes from the Taoist philosophy of yin yang (pronounced "Eum Yang," in Korean). The flag has three parts: The white background, the red and blue circle in the center and four trigrams, one in each corner of the flag. The white background symbolizes peace. The red and blue circle is called "Taeguk," the origin of all things in the universe; holding the two principles in perfect balance. The blue, ("Eum") represents the negative aspects of Taeguk. The red ("Yang") describes the positive aspects. 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);
  • ¦¦¦ Field (☷; gon (곤; 坤)) = earth (地);
  • ¦|¦ Gorge (☵; gam (감; 坎)) = water (水), moon, and yin;
  • |¦| Radiance (☲; ri (리; 離)) = fire (火), sun, and yang.

In Chinese philosophy, the eight 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.

Image:Flag of old Korea.jpg

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Specifications

Official colours given by the Office of the President are:

Scheme Blue Red White
CIE (x, y, Y) 0.1556, 0.1354, 6.5 0.5640, 0.3194, 15.3
Munsell 5.0PB 3.0/12 6.0R 4.5/14
Pantone* 294 186 Safe

* approximate.

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External links

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Flags of dependent territories
Flags of unrecognized states 		Coats of arms of dependent territories
Coats of arms of unrecognized states

Template:Asia in topicde:Flagge Südkoreas et:Lõuna-Korea lipp es:Bandera de Corea del Sur fr:Drapeau de la Corée du Sud ko:태극기 it:Bandiera della Corea del Sud he:דגל דרום קוריאה hu:Dél-Korea zászlaja ms:Bendera Korea Selatan nl:Vlag van Zuid-Korea ja:大韓民国の国旗 nn:Det sørkoreanske flagget pl:Flaga Republiki Korei pt:Bandeira da Coreia do Sul sv:Sydkoreas flagga tr:Güney Kore Bayrağı zh:大韓民國國旗

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