The meaning of the South Korean Flag is very philosophical. The origin comes from the Oriental philosoply called Eum-Yang; the Chinese pronounciation of Yin-Yang. In South Korea, the symbol of "Yin and Yang", and sometimes the flag itself, is called Taegeuk and summarizes the thoughts of "I Ching" (called "Yeok" in Korean). The name means as much as the "Flag of Great Extremes" itself.

The flag consists of three parts:

The white background

The white background symbolizes peace.

The red/blue Yin-Yang in the center of the flag

The red/blue Yin-Yang is called "Taegeuk", the origin of all things in the universe. The central thought is perfect harmony and balance: a continuous movement within the sphere of infinity, resulting in one unit. The blue part is called "Eum" and represents all negative aspects of the balance that is typical for the symbol. The red part is called "Yang" and represents all positive aspects.

The four trigrams in the corners of the flag

The four trigrams (called "Kwe" in Korean) also represent the concept of opposites and balance. The trigrams are Heaven (upper left corner), Earth (on the opposite corner, at bottom right), Water (upper right corner), and Fire (on the opposite corner, at bottom left). Looking at the symbols of the trigrams, you can see that they are opposites as well.

For the South Korean people, their flag is a source of pride and inspiration. During the Japanese occupation beginning in 1910, the South Korean flag was outlawed in public places. For about 35 years the South Korean flags were kept hidden, until Liberation Day in 1945. The South Korean flag has been a symbol of the country's struggle for independence and freedom.

The oldest Yin-Yang symbol was found in Korea, etched in stone. At the end of the 19th century, South Korea needed their own flag. It is believed that Young-Hyo Park came up with the first concept for this flag design. At that time, South Korea was under the influence of many different colonists from many different countries, including Japan, China, and Russia.

"Yin" means "dark and cold", while "Yang" means "bright and hot". A very old book called Choo-Yuk, which is written by a Chinese person, claims that all objects and events in the world are expressed by the movement of Yin and Yang. For example, the moon is Yin while the sun is Yang. The earth is Yin and the sky is Yang. The night is Yin and the day is Yang. The winter is Yin and the summer is Yang. Yin and Yang are relative to each other and are not absolutes.

	Kun	Heaven
	Yi	Fire
	Kam	Water
	Kon	Earth