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Evolution of the Design
Phase 1
According to historical records, Taegeukgi,
the national flag of Korea, was created in 1882, following permission
from King Gojong, by Pak Yeong-Hyo, the Korean ambassador, and his
team inside the ship en route to Japan. For the 115 years that followed,
however, no one was able to find out what its design looked like until
Song Myoung-Ho, a poet/Taegeukgi expert, discovered at Tokyo Central
Library (Japan) a copy of the Shisa Journal (dated Monday October
2, 1882) with an article on Joseons first national flag being created
along with a photograph of the flag, and released the finding to the
media on August 15, 1997. In comparison to todays flag, there are
noticeable differences in the way the four black trigrams and the
taegeuk in the center are designed.
Phase 2
The version of the Taegeukgi known to
have been given by King Gojong in 1885 to an American official who
was in charge of foreign relations at the time. Before the discovery
of the article on the Shisa Journal, many people assumed this to be
the very first version of Taegeukgi. It is currently displayed at
the Independence Hall.
Phase 3
The version of Taegeukgi displayed on
the Independence Daily published in 1896. There was much confusion
as to the correct version of the design, however, since with each
publication of the newspaper the design changed in some degrees.
Phase 4
The version of Taegeukgi that was displayed
at the 1900 Paris Exhibition. It is different from todays Taegeukgi
in that the red and blue of the taegeuk, divided by a smooth line,
are positioned next to each other rather than on top and bottom of
each other, and that the black trigrams are positioned not in four
corners of the flag as they are now, but in a way so that they form
a cross.
Phase 5
The version that was made official after
the announcement released by the Ministry of Education on October
15, 1949. After countless discussions held among the 42 members of
the National Flag Correction Committee and more than a few interesting
episodes and mishaps, the present design of Taegeukgi was finally
agreed upon. Once there was a popular consensus for an all new design
of the national flag with the newly gained independence. However,
the decision was made in the end to keep the original design of the
flag in honor of the patriots who gave their lives fighting for the
nations freedom from the 36-year Japanese occupation carrying that
exact flag in their hands. Moreover, all agreed that there will be
another chance to come up with a brand new flag reflecting the ideals
of the whole nation once Korea becomes reunified. All in all, todays
version of Taegeukgi represents that of the flag most beloved by the
Korean people during the 36 years of Japanese occupation.
Evolution of the Design
Phase 1
