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The National Flag - Taegeukgi

The National Flag - Taegeukgi

Origin

Following the trend for modern states to adopt national flags, the decision to create a national flag for Korea emerged with the ratification of the Korea-United States Treaty of 1882. No accurate records remain of the Korean flag chosen for use at the signing ceremony; however, some argue that the flag was si milar to the ensign flag featured in the Flags of Maritime Nations issued by the U.S. Navy Department’s Bureau of Navigation and found in 2004. In his capacity as Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary under King Gojong, Park Yeong-hyo kept a record of his diplomatic mission to Japan in 1882.

In his capacity as Envoy Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary under King Gojong, Park Yeong-hyo kept a record of his diplomatic mission to Japan in 1882. According to his journal, known as Sahwagiryak, in September of that year while aboard the ship to Japan, Park created a four-trigram flag with a taegeuk circle (instead of the flag with eight black bars that had been used prior to 1800). The flag was used from September 25, 1882, according to Park’s report to the government on October 3 of that year. By royal order on March 6, 1883, King Gojong promulgated that Park’s flag with a taegeuk circle in the center and four trigrams around it (the flag named Taegeukgi) be the national flag. However, due to a lack of specific guidelines, the flag design took different forms. On June 29, 1942, the Provisional Government issued a national flag style guide to ensure that subsequent flags would be created in a consistent manner. Despite these efforts, however, ordinary people were unaware of these guidelines.After the establishment of the Republic of Korea on August 15, 1948, the government felt an increasing need to standardize flag construction. Thus in January 1949, it formed the National Flag Correction Committee, which announced the National Flag Construction Guidelines on October 15 of that year. A number of regulations were later implemented, providing for the systematic management of the flag: the Act on the Flag of the Republic of Korea, enacted in January 2007; the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the Flag of the Republic of Korea, in July 2007; and the Regulations on the Hoisting, Management, and Promotion of the National Flag in September 2009 (by instructions from the Prime Minister).

Symbolism of the flag

The Taegeukgi consists of a white background, a red and blue taegeuk circle in the center, and four black trigrams (collectively called geongongamri), one in each corner of the flag. The white background represents brightness, purity, and peace, qualities that are highly valued by the people. The taegeuk, which has long been a commonly used motif, denotes the harmony between the negative cosmic forces (yin : blue portion) and the positive cosmic forces (yang : red portion), depicting the truth of nature that all things are created and evolve through the interaction of yin and yang. The four black trigrams are specific representations of the movement and harmony of these forces. In detail, the geon symbolizes the sky, the gon the earth, the gam water, and the ri fire. Together, they create harmony around the taegeuk mark. In short, the Taegeukgi flag embodies the vision of the Korean people who, like the universe, seek continuous creation and enrichment. By upholding the spirit and significance of the Taegeukgi, the people seek to realize unity and unification and contribute to the happiness and peace of humanity.

Construction of the Flag of Korea

Construction of the Flag of Korea

  1. ① Diameter of circle x 3
  2. ② Diameter of circle x 2
  3. ③ Diameter of circle x 1/2
  4. ④ Length of flag x 1/2
  5. ⑤ Right angle (90 degrees)
  6. ⑥ Diameter of Circle x 1/24
  7. ⑦ Diameter of circle x 1/4
  8. ⑧ Diameter of circle x 1/3
  9. ⑨ Diameter of circle x 1/12

Pledge of allegiance to the flag (revised on July 27, 2007)

I, standing before the noble Taegeukgi, solemnly pledge allegiance to the Republic of Korea, to its glory, liberty and justice.

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Prime Minister calls for setting example in sharing economic difficulties

  • 관리자
  • 2008.10.30
  • Hit 4145

Prime Minister Han Seung-soo, left, presides over a Cabinet meeting at the Central Government Complex in Seoul, Tuesday (Oct. 28)."In a situation where the entire nation is striving to revive the economy, the public sector, too, should make doubly sure that it does not invite the scorn of the people, and that it forcefully implements policies to slim itself down," Prime Minister Han Seung-soo said on Tuesday (Oct. 28).

Prime Minister Han made the remarks at a Cabinet meeting held at the Central Government Complex in Sejongno, Seoul. He said, "Worries are arising over the possibility of the worsening external environment leading to a shrinking economy, including sluggish exports and consumption, and having lingering effects." He stressed the need to seek comprehensive and diversified measures to overcome economic difficulties in the long term.

The Prime Minister especially urged the public sector to set an example in sharing economic difficulties. He added, "I hope that the other parts of the public sector, too, will come up with drastic streamlining programs, including a freeze on salary increases and numbers of staff, considering that the government has already frozen civil servants' salaries and numbers."

The Prime Minister also asked the private sector financial firms to adopt policies to make their management efficient by rationalizing their staff pay scales in tandem with the government's decisions to guarantee their foreign loans and supply won currency liquidity to them.

The Prime Minister said, "The government has so far maintained a policy of minimizing intervention in the management of the private sector financial institutions. It's natural that the government should make such a demand at a time when it's inevitable for it to guarantee their foreign borrowings. Advanced nations, including the United States, have already taken similar measures to put restrictions on pay scales" of private sector financial firms.

The Prime Minister went on to say, "In Korea, some banks have already decided to cut their staff's salary on their own initiative. But their decision, however, is not deemed to be sufficient." Meanwhile, he told financial authorities, such as the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Financial Services Commission, to sign memoranda of understanding with financial institutions in this regard to make up for insufficient policies and measures.

To save foreign currency reserves, the Prime Minister urged the public sector to refrain from sending its staff on nonessential overseas business trips, and the government to make sure that it does not waste budget on unnecessary projects during the season for year-end planning.

The Prime Minister also stressed the spirit of saving foreign currency, despite the country's holdings of foreign currency reserves being deemed sufficient enough to prevent the recurrence of a financial crisis.

Commenting on budget spending during the season for year-end planning, the Prime Minister asked the local governments not to waste budget hastily on unnecessary projects.

In conclusion, the Prime Minister said, "People on low incomes have been hit hardest by the current economic difficulties. You Cabinet members, please visit needy neighborhoods to share their difficulties and encourage them."


By Chung Myung-je
Korea.net Chief Staff Writer
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