Bringing Korea to the K-12 ClassroomsBringing Korea to the K-12 Classrooms

The Korean National FlagThe Korean National Flag TaegukkiTaegukki

National Korean Studies National Korean Studies SeminarCopyright 2014

Sung Kim and Mary Connor

The Korean National FlagThe Korean National Flag

T'aegukkiT'aegukki

• The Korean National Flag, the symbol of the Republic of Korea South Korea, is named "T'aegukki."

• The name was derived from the taeguk circle in the center.

TaegukTaeguk

• The taeguk circle stands for the eternal principle that everything in the universe is created and develops through the interaction between yin and yang;

• It symbolizes creation and development.

TaegukTaeguk• The circle is divided equally and in perfect

balance. • The red upper section represents the yang

and the blue lower section stands for the yin. • According to traditional Oriental philosophy,

the two symbolize the great cosmic forces, which oppose each other but achieve perfect harmony and balance.

FFour our TTrigramsrigrams

• The four trigrams surrounding the circle symbolize the process of yin and yang going through a spiral of change and growth.

FFour our TTrigramsrigrams• The three unbroken

lines at the upper left represent heaven (kun),

• the three broken lines at the lower right represent earth (kon),

FFour our TTrigramsrigrams• the two unbroken

lines with an broken line in the middle at the lower left represent fire (yi).

• the two broken lines with an unbroken line in the middle at the upper right represent water (kam), and

FFour our TTrigramsrigrams

Kun( 건 )

HeavenSpringEast

Kam( 감 )

Water(Moon)WinterNorth

Yi( 이 )

Fire(Sun)AutumnSouth

Kon( 곤 )

EarthSummerWest

White BackgroundWhite Background

• The white background of the flag symbolizes the purity of the Korean people and their peace-loving spirit.

• The flag as a whole is symbolic of the ideal of the Korean people to develop forever together with the universe.

T’aegukki DiagramT’aegukki Diagram

How to Make T’aegukki (1)How to Make T’aegukki (1)

1. Cut the construction paper in a rectangular shape. The ratio of the flag’s length and width is 3:2.

2. Draw 2 diagonals of the rectangle crossing in the center of the rectangle.

3. Draw a circle (T’aeguk) on the center. Its diameter is ½ of the width of the flag.

How to Make T’aegukki (2)How to Make T’aegukki (2)

1. One diagonal crossing the left top corner to right bottom corner cut the circle half and half.

2. The half sized semi-circles are drawn left bottom and right top of the original circle.

3. Top half of the T’aeguk is red and bottom half is blue.

How to Make T’aegukki (3)How to Make T’aegukki (3)1. The length of a trigram

is ½ of the diameter of T’aeguk.

2. The width of a trigram is 1/3 of the diameter of

T’aeguk.3. The distance between a

trigram and the circle is ¼ of the diameter.

Display T’aegukkiDisplay T’aegukki

• On National Holidays and normal days

• Holidays of Condolence

ReferencesReferences• http://www.itatkd.com/koreanflag.html• http://user.chol.com/~koan122x/sunlei/kfl.htm• http://flagspot.net/flags/kr_hist.html• http://english.tour2korea.com/01TripPlanner/

KoreaInBrief/na_symbols.asp?kosm=m1_1&konum=2

• http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Pagoda/1876/national.htm

• http://www.fotw.us/flags/kr.html