''Taegeuk'' (, ) is a Sino-Korean term meaning "supreme ultimate", although it can also be translated as "great polarity / duality / extremes". The term and its overall concept is derived from the Chinese '' Taiji'', popularised in the west as the

Yin and Yang Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary an ...

. The symbol was chosen for the design of the

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

national flag A national flag is a flag that represents and national symbol, symbolizes a given nation. It is Fly (flag), flown by the government of that nation, but can also be flown by its citizens. A national flag is typically designed with specific meanin ...

in the 1880s. It substitutes the black and white color scheme often seen in most ''

taijitu In Chinese philosophy, a ''taijitu'' () is a Character (symbol), symbol or diagram () representing ''Taiji (philosophy), taiji'' () in both its monist (''Wuji (philosophy), wuji'') and its Dualism in cosmology, dualist (yin and yang) forms in a ...

'' illustrations with blue and red, respectively, along with a horizontal separator, as opposed to vertical. South Koreans commonly refer to their national flag as ' (), where ''gi'' () means "flag" or "banner". This particular color-themed symbol is typically associated with Korean traditions and represents balance in the universe; the red half represents positive cosmic forces, and the blue half represents the complementary or opposing, negative cosmic forces. It is also used in

Korean shamanism Korean shamanism, also known as () is a religion from Korea. Religious studies, Scholars of religion classify it as a folk religion and sometimes regard it as one facet of a broader Korean vernacular religion distinct from Buddhism, Taoism, Dao ...

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...

Taoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

, and

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

.Korea's Sam-Taegeuk Symbol
san-shin.org, dedicated to the sacred mountains of Korea.

History

The diagram has been existent for the majority of written Korean history. The origins of the interlocking- sinusoid design in Korea can be traced to as early as the

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...

or Silla period, e.g. in the decoration of a sword, dated to the 5th or 6th century, recovered from the grave of Michu of Silla, or an artifact with the pattern of similar age found in the Bogam-ri tombs of

Baekje Baekje or Paekche (; ) was a Korean kingdom located in southwestern Korea from 18 BCE to 660 CE. It was one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, together with Goguryeo and Silla. While the three kingdoms were in separate existence, Baekje had the h ...

at Naju,

South Jeolla Province South Jeolla Province (), formerly South Chŏlla Province, also known as Jeonnam (), is a province in the Honam, Honam region, South Korea, and the Provinces of Korea, southernmost province in mainland Korea. South Jeolla borders the provinces of ...

in 2008. In the compound of Gameunsa, a temple built in AD 628 during the reign of King Jinpyeong of Silla, a stone object, perhaps the foundation of a pagoda, is carved with the design. In

Gojoseon Gojoseon (; ), contemporary name Joseon (; ), was the first kingdom on the Korea, Korean Peninsula. According to Korean mythology, the kingdom was established by the legendary king Dangun. Gojoseon possessed the most advanced culture in th ...

, the ancient kingdom of Joseon, the design was used to express the hope for harmony of

yin and yang Originating in Chinese philosophy, yin and yang (, ), also yinyang or yin-yang, is the concept of opposite cosmic principles or forces that interact, interconnect, and perpetuate each other. Yin and yang can be thought of as complementary an ...

. It is likely due to the earliest spread of ancient Chinese culture in

, especially during the early

Zhou dynasty The Zhou dynasty ( ) was a royal dynasty of China that existed for 789 years from until 256 BC, the longest span of any dynasty in Chinese history. During the Western Zhou period (771 BC), the royal house, surnamed Ji, had military ...

. Today the is usually associated with Korean tradition and represents balance in the universe, as mentioned in the previous section (red is , or positive cosmic forces, and blue is , or negative cosmic forces). Among its many religious connotations (

Korean Confucianism Korean Confucianism, or Korean Ruism, is the form of Confucianism that emerged and developed in Korea. One of the most substantial influences in Korean intellectual history was the introduction of Confucian thought as part of the cultural influe ...

;

Taoism in Korea Taoism or "Do" is thought to be the earliest state philosophy for the Korean people. However, its influence waned with the introduction of Buddhism during the Goryeo kingdom as the national religion and the dominance of neo-Confucianism during ...

;

Korean Buddhism Korean Buddhism is distinguished from other forms of Buddhism by its attempt to resolve what its early practitioners saw as inconsistencies within the Mahayana Buddhist traditions that they received from foreign countries. To address this, they ...

), the taegeuk is also present in

South Korea's national flag

The symbol is most prominently displayed in the center of South Korea's national flag, called the , literally ''taegeuk flag'' (along with four of the eight trigrams used in divination). Because of the Taegeuk's association with the national flag, it is often used as a patriotic symbol, as are the colors red, blue, and black. Though the ''taegeuk'' and the trigrams have been used since the earliest periods of Korean history, its use had started earlier in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The is a Taoist icon which symbolizes cosmic balance, and represents the constant interaction between the

, also known as ''eum/yang'' (). The symbol used on the flag originated from the Chinese Confucian classic known as '' The Book of Changes'' (also known as ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing''), a book developed for use in

divination Divination () is the attempt to gain insight into a question or situation by way of an occultic ritual or practice. Using various methods throughout history, diviners ascertain their interpretations of how a should proceed by reading signs, ...

. The four trigrams also originated from the

I Ching The ''I Ching'' or ''Yijing'' ( ), usually translated ''Book of Changes'' or ''Classic of Changes'', is an ancient Chinese divination text that is among the oldest of the Chinese classics. The ''I Ching'' was originally a divination manual in ...

; each of these trigrams represent specific Confucian virtues, cosmic elements, or family roles, in addition to seasons, compass directions, etc. The ''geon'' trigram (☰) represents the heaven (sky), summer, south, father, and justice. The ''gon'' trigram (☷) symbolizes the earth (ground), winter, north, mother, and vitality, the ''gam'' trigram (☵) the moon, autumn, west, 2nd (or middle) son, and wisdom, and the ''ri'' trigram (☲) the sun, spring, east, 2nd (or middle) daughter, and fruition. The four trigrams supposedly move in an endless cycle from "geon" to "ri" to "gon" to "gam" and back to "geon" in their pursuit of perfection. The white background symbolizes the homogeneity, integrity and purity of the Korean people. For thousands of years, Korean people nearly exclusively wore white clothing. This eventually led to the rise of the nickname "white-clothed people" for Koreans. Therefore, the colour white is often considered associated with the Korean people.

Variants

Tricolored ''taegeuk''

A variant in South Korea is the tricolored (''sam·saeg·ui tae·geuk'' or ''sam·tae·geuk'' ), which adds a yellow lobe or ''pa'' (). The yellow portion is taken as representing humanity, in addition to the red and blue representing earth and heaven, respectively. A rendition of the tricolored also appeared in the official logo of the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

accompanied by the five Olympic rings.

Paralympics symbol

The first designated

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

logo, created for the

1988 Summer Paralympics The 1988 Summer Paralympics () were the first Paralympics in 24 years to take place in the same city as the 1988 Summer Olympics, Olympic Games. They took place in Seoul, South Korea. This was the first time the term "Paralympic" was used officia ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, was based on the traditional ''pa'', the spiral or sinusoid components making up the symbol. In March 1992,Vom Rehabilitationssport zu den Paralympics
( German), Sportmuseum Leipzig the Paralympic symbol was changed to a version utilizing only three ''pa''. This was not fully adopted until after the 1994 Winter Paralympics in

Lillehammer Lillehammer () is a municipality in Innlandet county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. Some of the more notable villages in the munici ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, since the Lillehammer Paralympic Organizing Committee had by then already started a marketing program based on the five-pa version. The three-''pa'' version remained in place from the close of the Lillehammer Games through the

2004 Summer Paralympics The 2004 Summer Paralympics (), the 12th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Athens, Greece, from 17 to 28 September ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

.International Paralympic Committee - The IPC logo, motto and flag
CRWFlags.com The current Paralympic symbol has morphed the teardrop-shaped ''pa'' into more of a

swoosh The Swoosh is the logo of American sportswear designer and retailer Nike. Today, it has become one of the most recognizable brand logos in the world, and the most valuable, having a worth of $26 billion alone. Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight fou ...

, but still employs three such colour swatches, one each of red, blue, and green.

Miss Asia Pacific World

The logo for the Miss Asia Pacific World

Beauty Pageant A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes sol ...

, which began in Seoul, South Korea in 2011, is another example of the tricolored symbol.

Governmental emblem

The

Government of South Korea The government of South Korea () is the national government of the Republic of Korea, created by the Constitution of South Korea as the executive, legislative and judicial authority of the republic. The president acts as the head of state and ...

unveiled new uniform visual identity for governmental institutions on 15 March 2016, it uses a stylized blue ''pa'' with a red arch, representing the country's history and traditions and its vision for the future. This replaced the former '' Hibiscus syriacus'' insignia used by government as well as insignia of each government institutions, due to their failure to achieve public awareness and highly costs.

Gallery

File:Taegeuk in Naju Hyanggyo.jpg, pattern painted on the gate of a house in Naju Image:Coat of arms of 19th century Korea.png, in the 1899 book '' Heraldischer Atlas'' Image:Sam Taeguk.jpg, Tricolored on a buk drum Image:청와대 영빈관 내부2 (cropped).jpg, ''Samtaegeuk'' on the Reception Hall of the Blue House Image:Samtaegeuk with Fu Hsi's 8 trigrams.svg, Tricolored encircled by pal gwae.

References

External links

Taegeuk
at ''

Naver Naver (; stylized as NAVER) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. The company's products include a search engine, email hosting, blogs, maps, and mobile payment. History Naver was the first Korean web provide ...

'' {{Authority control Culture of Korea National symbols of Korea National symbols of South Korea Tao Visual motifs Korean heraldry