Officially the "Taegeukgi" is the
South Korea National flag and it refers to the red (top) and blue (bottom) yin-yang symbol in the center. This used to be the flag of a unified Korea, but with North Korea being a Communist country, it replaced the "taegeukgi" with a white disk and on it is the red five-pointed star the symbol for Communism.
The Flag of Korea is composed of three parts; a white field; a red and blue taegeuk (taijitu or yin- yang) in the center; and four black trigrams on each corner of the flag. The origin of the trigrams is the Chinese book I Ching (Book of Changes) that represents the four Chinese philosophical ideas about the universe (harmony, symmetry, balance, circulation). The overall concept of the
custom flag is based on the traditional use of the tricolor (red, white, blue), which had been in use since the early part of Korea's history.
White as the field symbolizes cleanliness of the people; the taegeuk represents the origin of all things in the universe, that describes the two principles of eum; yin in blue being negative and yang in red positive, coexisting together in harmony. All aspects together in a flag embody a never-ending motion within infinity and the two finally merging as one.
After the Korean War (1950-53) that divided the nation, the South Korean side and a capitalist bastion developed into the world's 12th largest trading nation, becoming a major exporter of cars, consumer electronics, and computer components. A decade in the 90's saw South Koreas growth at 10% a year, three times that of the U.S. and double that of Japan.
Even after the Asian financial crises, economic growth continues to perform well.
by:
The Flagman
