The flag of the Republic of Korea is easily recognizable from many others. It is a rectangle whose width is proportional to its length in a ratio of 2: 3. The central emblem and trigrams are depicted on a white background. The white color of the flag of South Korea is the national color of the country. In Buddhism, white is considered the color of the mother and personifies holiness and purity, the ability to control oneself and one's own thoughts.
The central emblem of the flag of South Korea reflects the views of its inhabitants on the structure of the universe. It is represented by the unity of the yin and yang energies, which interact together. The yin energy is represented by a blue symbol, and yang - red. But in Korean, "the great beginnings of yin and yang" sound like "tegek", so the flag was called Taegekki. The two forces depicted together are designed to embody the idea of continuous movement, achieving harmony and maintaining balance. They characterize infinity in all its manifestations.
The flag of the Great Beginnings first appeared in 1883. It served as the state symbol of Joseon, the dynasty that has ruled Korea since the late 14th century. Its founder, Lee Songge, became famous for his fight against the Japanese corsairs, who made devastating raids on the Korean Peninsula. Trigrams were first painted on the Joseon flag, which are located closer to the corners of the modern flag of South Korea.
Trigrams also consist of the symbols "yin" and "yang", which correspond to discontinuous and continuous stripes. Trigrams on the modern flag mean many concepts that are important from the point of view of Taoism. Read from the top of the shaft and move clockwise, the trigrams symbolize Heaven, Moon, Earth, and Sun. Another meaning is south, west, north and east. The symbols indicate, in the above-indicated order, the seasons - summer, autumn, winter and spring. And finally, they correspond to the elements - air, water, earth and fire. The black color used in the flag's trigrams symbolizes steadfastness, vigilance and justice for Koreans.
The South Korean flag was officially approved in 1948. Its author is considered Lee Eun Joon, who has the honor of creating the original taegeukki in 1882. This man served as an interpreter at court for His Majesty Emperor Joseon. Then the original flag existed in state status until 1910. Almost four decades later, he returned to all flagpoles in the country.
