The Secret History Behind South Korea's Flag
South Korea's flag was sketched aboard a ship in 1882.
Park Yeong-hyo, an envoy of King Gojong, drew a flag with a taegeuk circle and four trigrams while sailing to Japan in September 1882. By royal order on March 6, 1883, King Gojong declared it the national flag of Korea, the Taegeukgi.
The white background stands for brightness, purity and peace. The red and blue circle shows the balance of yin and yang, and the four black trigrams in the corners represent heaven, earth, fire and water.
The Constituent Assembly of the Republic of Korea adopted the Taegeukgi as the national flag on July 12, 1948.
The date printed on every South Korea design in our catalog, August 15, 1945, is Liberation Day, still a national holiday.
A drawing on a ship that became a nation's symbol.
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