Origin of Flag

The Korean name for Korea is "Hangeuk" and its people are called "Hangeuksaram." The ancient name for Korea is "Choson," which means "the land of morning calm" and comes from the Choson (or Joseon) Dynasty (1392-1905). The name "Korea" comes from the Koryo Dynasty (935-1392), during which westerners had their first contact with Korea.

By the end of the 19th century, Korea was under the influence of colonists such the Japanese, Chinese, and Russians, and it needed its own flag. Korea first felt the need for a national flag as it was preparing to conclude the Korean-American Treaty of Commerce, which was concluded on May 22 and signed on June 6, 1882. This was during the 19th year of the reign of King Go-jong of the Chosen Kingdom (1392-1910). Though China had been pressing Korea to use a dragon design on its national flag, Korea rejected this in favor of a blue and red Yin-Yang on a white field, a favorite Korean design since ancient times. Thus, the taegeuk design flag became the temporary national flag. Later Korea added eight trigrams combinations of three unbroken and broken bars around the taegeuk circle, creating the Taegeukgi, which served as the national colors for a while. According an article published on October 2, 1882 in the Tokyo daily newspaper, Emperor Go-jong designed the original flag.