Overview * National Flag of South Korea: Taegeukgi * Originally named Joseon Geukgi Korea’s first national flag was created in 1882 during Joseon Dynasty, and it was called Joseon Geukgi after the name of the era. It maintained its name for the next 27 years until March 1, 1919 when the Samil Independence Movement took place. Origin of the Name Taegeukgi People began calling Korea’s national flag Taegeukgi instead of Joseon Geukgi on March 1, 1919, the day when the 33 independence movement leaders led the nation in declaration of independence. At noon on March 1, 1919, these leaders gathered at Topgol Park in Seoul and read aloud the Declaration of Independence thereby simultaneously igniting independence movements all over the nation. Each of those participating that day had secretly agreed to carry a gi, a flag, and they decided to call it something other than Joseon Geukgi so that the Japanese wouldn’t take notice. It was at that time the name Taegeukgi was brought about for the very first time.

Evolution of the Design

Phase 1 According to historical records, Taegeukgi, the national flag of Korea, was created in 1882, following permission from King Gojong, by Pak Yeong-Hyo, the Korean ambassador, and his team inside the ship en route to Japan. For the 115 years that followed, however, no one was able to find out what its design looked like until Song Myoung-Ho, a poet/Taegeukgi expert, discovered at Tokyo Central Library (Japan) a copy of the Shisa Journal (dated Monday October 2, 1882) with an article on Joseon’s first national flag being created along with a photograph of the flag, and released the finding to the media on August 15, 1997. In comparison to today’s flag, there are noticeable differences in the way the four black trigrams and the taegeuk in the center are designed.

Phase 2 The version of the Taegeukgi known to have been given by King Gojong in 1885 to an American official who was in charge of foreign relations at the time. Before the discovery of the article on the Shisa Journal, many people assumed this to be the very first version of Taegeukgi. It is currently displayed at the Independence Hall.

Phase 3 The version of Taegeukgi displayed on the Independence Daily published in 1896. There was much confusion as to the correct version of the design, however, since with each publication of the newspaper the design changed in some degrees.

Phase 4 The version of Taegeukgi that was displayed at the 1900 Paris Exhibition. It is different from today’s Taegeukgi in that the red and blue of the taegeuk, divided by a smooth line, are positioned next to each other rather than on top and bottom of each other, and that the black trigrams are positioned not in four corners of the flag as they are now, but in a way so that they form a cross.

Phase 5 The version that was made official after the announcement released by the Ministry of Education on October 15, 1949. After countless discussions held among the 42 members of the National Flag Correction Committee and more than a few interesting episodes and mishaps, the present design of Taegeukgi was finally agreed upon. Once there was a popular consensus for an all new design of the national flag with the newly gained independence. However, the decision was made in the end to keep the original design of the flag in honor of the patriots who gave their lives fighting for the nation’s freedom from the 36-year Japanese occupation carrying that exact flag in their hands. Moreover, all agreed that there will be another chance to come up with a brand new flag reflecting the ideals of the whole nation once Korea becomes reunified. All in all, today’s version of Taegeukgi represents that of the flag most beloved by the Korean people during the 36 years of Japanese occupation.