What does this flag stand for?

What do the symbols in the S. Korean flag stand for?

• I once read a book about Feng Shui and I notice that the South Korean flag has symbols from the Bagua. What is the importance of those Feng Shui elements in national culture and identity? Do South Koreans design their buildings using Feng Shui? How important is Feng Shui in their lives?

• Answer:

  The flag of South Korea, or Taegukgi (Although revised official Romanization is Taegeukgi, the word Taegukgi has been used in English-speaking countries historically) has three parts: a white background; a red and blue taegeuk in the center; and four black trigrams, one in each corner of the flag. The flag was designed by Bak Yeong-hyo, the Korean ambassador to Japan. King Gojong proclaimed the Taegeukgi to be the official flag of Korea on 6 March 1883. The four trigrams originates in the Chinese book I Ching, representing the four Chinese philosophical ideas about the universe: harmony, symmetry, balance, circulation. The general design of the flag also derives from traditional use of the tricolor symbol (red, blue and yellow) by Koreans starting from the early era of Korean history. The white background symbolizes "cleanliness of the people." The taegeuk 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 trigrams are: ||| Force (☰; geon (건; 乾) in Korean) = heaven (天), spring (春), east (東), virtue (仁); ¦¦¦ Field (☷; gon (곤; 坤)) = earth (地), summer (夏), west (西), justice (義); |¦| Radiance (☲; ri (리; 離)) = sun (日), autumn (秋), south (南), courtesy (禮); ¦|¦ Gorge (☵; gam (감; 坎)) = moon (月), winter (冬), north (北), knowledge or wisdom (智). Traditionally, the four 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. The earliest surviving depiction of the flag was printed in a U.S. Navy book Flags of Maritime Nations in July 1882.Contents History The red and blue symbol has an origin that is entirely secular. It is derived by graphing the length of the sun's shadow. (If the series of lines are drawn radiating from the middle, as if regularly rotating a parchment impaled by a small shadow-casting stick each day, the design becomes apparent.) Although affiliated with Taoism and called a "Yin-Yang" symbol today, its placement on the flag honors a venerable tradition of accurate record-keeping for the public benefit instated by King Sejong in the 13th century. Unlike the modern version, the depiction on the oldest flag is clearly true to the actual graph. ----- -- -- ----- ----- ----- -- -- ----- -- -- -- -- -- -- ----- -- -- The original flag, dating to 1883, shows them placed as below. This version respects the four European directions with which their elements are traditionally affiliated. "Water" is at upper left; "Heaven" is at upper right; "Earth" is at lower left; "Fire" is at lower right. (In Asian tradition, however, Heaven is usually associated with north-west, and Earth is usually associated with south-west. See also Bagua.) -- -- ----- N ----- ----- E -- -- ----- -- -- ----- W -- -- -- -- S -- -- ----- The taegeukgi was used as a symbol of resistance and independence during the Japanese occupation and ownership of it was punishable by execution. After independence, both North and South Korea initially adopted versions of the taegeukgi, but North Korea later changed its national flag to a more Soviet-inspired design after three years Colours The official colours of Taegukgi are specified on the "Ordinance Act of the Law concerning the National Flag of the Republic of Korea(대한민국국기법시행령)[1]".[1][2] There was no specification for shade of colours until 1997, when South Korean government decided to provide standard specification for the flag. On October, 1997, Presidential ordinance on the standard specification of the flag of the Republic of Korea was promulgated[3], and that specification was acceeded by the National Flag Law in 2007. Errors The South Korean flag is sometimes drawn differently from the official version. Sometimes the taegeuki is reversed to make it a taoist Yin-Yang, which traditionally goes clockwise. The gwae may be transposed, possibly in error but possibly because they wish to restore the traditional Asian meanings. South Koreans themselves have different ways of interpreting the traditional symbols.