The national flag of South Korea has a red-and-blue taegeuk surrounded by four black trigrams.
South Korea’s flag is called the Taegeukgi. Its central taegeuk symbol combines red and blue halves, representing complementary forces traditionally associated with balance. Four black trigrams occupy the white field, one near each corner.
The four trigrams come from the I Ching, a classical Chinese philosophical text. They are named geon, gon, gam and ri, and are associated with concepts including heaven, earth, water and fire. Their broken and unbroken bars make each group visually distinct.
The flag was first used in the late 19th century and became the Republic of Korea’s national flag after liberation and the establishment of the state in 1948. It is often confused with North Korea’s flag, which uses a red central band and a red star rather than a taegeuk.