The flag of South Korea consists of a white rectangular field featuring a red and bue "Taegeuk" at its centre with four black trigrams facing towards each corner of the flag.
The colour white is considered a traditional South Korean colour and is said to represent peace and purity.
The "Taegeuk" is a traditional South Korean symbol and roughly translates to "supreme ultimate". The symbol is said to represent balance in the universe - the red coloured half representing positive cosmic foces and the blue coloured half representing negative cosmic forces. The symbol is also used in Buddhism, Confuscianism, Daoism and Shamanism.
The four trigrams each hold differing symbolisms. Clockwise from the top left corner of the flag:
- The geon trigram stands for the heaven, spring, east and justice.
- The gam trigram stands for the moon, winter, north and wisdom.
- The gon trigram stands for the earth, summer, west and vitality.
- The ri trigram stands for the sun, autumn, south and fruition.
The flag of South Korea is also known as the "Taegukgi".
A large South Korean flag on display at a football match