The Korean Flag
3/2/20
Breakdown of the Korean Flag
The Korean Flag is composed of 3 symbolic figures:
- Land of Korea - white background of the Korean flag
- People of Korea - red & blue yin/yang circle
- Government of Korea - four black trigrams around the central circle
Land of Korea
Just like twenty-eight other countries, South Korea bleeds red, white, and, blue!
The color white, which represents peace and purity, has always been traditional to the South Korean people. So much in fact, during the 19th century, foreigners would often call Koreans the "white-chad folk" because of their consistency in white colored clothing.
The high quality values that the color white stood for made it an easy choice to use as the background of the flag.
White Out Designs
People of Korea
The red and blue circle, also known as Taeguk, represents the yin-yang philosophy of perfect harmony and balance. Both parts of the circle counter each other to form a state of opposition and balance.
Yin (the blue half of the circle) represents all negative forces while Yang (the red half of the circle) represents all positive forces.
Examples of positive and negative forces can be seen in our everyday lives:
Black & White, Negative & Positive, Moon & Sun, Winter & Summer, Heavy & Light, Earth & Heaven, Etc.
View ALL Yin Yang Designs by clicking logo below
Government of Korea
Last but not least, the Government of Korea is depicted through the four trigrams that surround the central yin/yang circle.
The four trigrams, referred to as "Kwe" in Korean, symbolize the four universal
elements: heaven, earth, fire, and water.
Sound familiar?
Heaven, earth, fire, and water also accommodate the notion of opposites and balance like we learned earlier with the yin/yang symbol.
Although the four trigrams have a unique identity, they represent a balanced world as a whole.
To sum up, the nation's flag uses colors and symbolism to represent the land, people, and government of South Korea.
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