Flag of South Korea
Flag of South Korea
Flag ratio: 2:3
Hangul: í극기
Hanja: 太極æ
Revised Romanization: Taegeukgi
McCune-Reischauer: T'aegÅkki
The flag of South Korea has three parts: a white background; a red and blue taeguk in the center; and four trigrams, one in each corner of the flag. 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 concepts of yin and yang (pronounced "Eum Yang," in Korean). The white background symbolizes peace. 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 black trigrams in the corners of the white field are from the ancient I Ching (Book of Changes, called "Yeok Gyeong" in Korean) .
The four trigrams are:
||| Force (â°; geon (ê±´; ä¹¾) in Korean) = heaven (天), spring(æ¥), east(æ±), virtue(ä»);
¦¦¦ Field (â·; gon (곤; å¤)) = earth (å°), summer(å¤), west(西), justice(義);
|¦| Radiance (â²; ri (리; é¢)) = sun(æ¥), fall(ç§), south(å), courtesy(禮);
¦|¦ Gorge (âµ; gam (ê°; å)) = moon(æ), winter(å¬), north(å), knowledge or wisdom(æº).
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.
2006-10-11 07:09:47
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answer #2
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answered by Basement Bob 6
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