The official name of the South Korean flag is Taegeukgi. It was approved on July 12, 1948, and consists of a white background, a red and blue taeguk circle in the center, and four black trigrams (collectively called gonggongamri), one in each corner of the flag.
By upholding the spirit and meaning of taeguk, people strive to achieve unity and unification, and to contribute to happiness and peace on the planet.
The official appearance of the Taegeukgi took place only on October 15, 1949. The production of the national flag of Korea began after the signing of the Korean-American Treaty of 1882, when the country decided to adopt its own flag. Information about the first flag chosen for this ceremony has not been preserved, but according to Park Young-hyo's records, in September 1882, he created a flag with four trigrams and a taegeuk circle. The Korean flag was officially proclaimed the national flag on March 6, 1883 by King Gojong. Subsequently, a national flag style guide was issued, and in 1948, after the establishment of the Republic of Korea, the need to standardize flags was established. The National Flag Correction Committee was established and published a flag production manual. In addition to this, a number of regulations governing flag management were adopted, such as the Flag Act of the Republic of Korea, the Decree on the Application of this Act, and the Regulations on the Raising, Management and Promotion of the National Flag.
During the reign of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea, the Taegeukgi was used with a different direction, size and arrangement of symbols from the modern one. Immediately after the liberation, in the period of 1945-1948, the central element was rotated by 90 degrees. The flag of 1946-1949 had an enlarged yin-yang symbol and longer trigram lines. Over the years, the trigrams changed places and only in 1949 acquired their final location. In 1997, the tone of the blue color was changed to a lighter one.
