REPUBLIC OF KOREA
CURRENT NAVAL ENSIGNS & FLAGS
The national flag of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) is called the Taegukgi (supreme ultimate flag). The design dates from the late nineteenth century and it was officially adopted by the Korean government of the day in 1883. It was suppressed during the period of Japanese rule but in 1945 it was adopted by the US-supported government of South Korea, its status as the republic's national flag being formalized in 1948. The Taegukgi's background is white, a traditional color in Korean culture representing peace and purity. The central circle is derived from Chinese yin-yang philosophy, representing the balance of the universe. Red represents the positive cosmic forces, blue the negative ones. The devices in the corners, called trigrams, represent movement and harmony as fundamental principles.
The national flag is also employed as South Korea's naval ensign. The naval jack is blue with a white canton bearing the yin-yang device over crossed anchors. The commission pennant replicates the design of the national flag.
The South Korean armed forces having been set up with American assistance, their basic rank structure follows US practice. Naval flag officers have blue rank flags with stars according to rank over a spray of hibiscus, the national floral badge. An unusual feature of these rank flags is that the size of the stars varies according to rank. The flag of the Minister of Defense displays the tri-service armed forces badge on a red field with white stars in the corners. The Commandant of the South Korean Marine Corps, a lieutenant general, has a red flag with the three stars of his rank set over the corps badge, which is closely modeled on that of the United States Marine Corps.
Flag Proportions: Flags of the Republic of Korea are made in 2:3 proportions.
