Olympic flag

Since Taekwondo is an Olympic sport and many Taekwondo organizations compete in Olympic style sparring, some dojangs also hang the Olympic flag along with the United States and South Korean flags.

On the Olympic flag, five rings appear on a white background. The flag reinforces the idea of the Olympic Movement's universality, as it brings together all the countries of the world. Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the modern Olympic Games, explains the meaning of the flag as "The Olympic flag [...] has a white background, with five interlaced rings in the center : blue, yellow, black, green and red [...] This design is symbolic; it represents the five continents of the world, united by the Olympics, while the six colors are those that appear on all the national flags of the world at the present time." Even though there are seven geographic continents, for purposes of international sports competition Antarctica is excluded and traditionally North and South America are considered simply as "America." Combined in this way, the six colors of the flag (including the white of the background) represent all nations. Thus, it is wrong to believe that each color corresponds to a certain continent.

At the Olympic Games, the flag is brought into the stadium during the opening ceremony. Since the 1960 Games in Rome, Italy, it has been carried horizontally by a delegation of athletes or other people well known for their positive work in society. After its arrival, the flag is hoisted up the flagpole. It must fly in the stadium during the whole of the Games. When the flag is lowered at the closing ceremony, it signals the end of the Games. The mayor of the host city of the Games then passes the Olympic flag to the mayor of the next host city of the Games.