NATIONAL TANG SOO DO ORGANISATION    

TEACHING THE TRADITIONAL KOREAN MARTIAL ART OF SELF-DEFENCE

Republic of Korea

South Korean Flag

 Flag adopted 25 January 1950

Symbolism of the flag

The Korean national flag is called Taegukki. The meaning of the Korean National Flag is very philosophical. The origin comes from the old oriental philosophy called the theory of Um-Yang, in Chinese pronunciation Yin-Yang. Yin means dark and cold, while Yang means bright and hot. The idea of Yin-Yang is supposed to have originated from the old Korean philosophy of Sam shin meaning three gods. A very old book called Chuyok or Iching in Chinese, which was written by the Chinese several thousands years ago, claims all objects and events in the world are expressed by the movement of yin and yang. For example, the moon is yin while the sun is yang; the earth is yin and the heaven is yang; a woman is yin and a man is yang; the night is yin and the day is yang; the winter is yin and the summer is yang, etc. Yin and yang are relative. Yin and yang are opposite and struggle each other while they cooperate in harmony. The harmonious state of the movement of yin and yang is called Taeguki, or Taikukkki, Taichi in Chinese, which is also the name of the Korean national flag, i.e. Taegukki. Ki means a flag. The upper half circle, red, of Taeguk means yang and the lower half circle, blue, means yin. They stand for the state of harmony of yin and yang.

The symbols, called Kwae, in the four corners, mean the principle of movement and harmony.

The white colour of background stands for the peace and the purity of the Korean people who have loved to wear white coloured clothes. Therefore, the Korean people have been called the white-clad nation.

The symbols, called Kwae, in the four corners, mean the principle of movement and harmony. These are Kun meaning heaven, Yi meaning fire, Kam meaning water, and Kon meaning earth. Each of them symbolizes a different state of movement.

To conclude, the symbols, Yin, Yang, Kun, Yi, Kam, and Kon, express the principle of the movement of all objects in the universe and the movement of the universe itself. It also stands for peace and harmony.
 

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Last modified: April 10, 2003