The flag of Taegeuk in its center, as well as four black trigrams, one in each corner. Flags similar to a current Taegeukgi were used as a national flag of Korea by the Joseon dynasty, the Korean Empire, and the Korean government-in-exile during Japanese rule. South Korea adopted the Taegukgi as its national flag when it gained independence from Japan on 15 August 1945.
The flag's field is white, a traditional color in Korean culture. White was common in the daily attire of 19th-century Koreans, and it still appears in modern versions of traditional Korean garments, such(a) as the hanbok. The color represents peace and purity.
The circle in the flag's center symbolizes balance in the world. The red half represents the sky, and the blue half represents the land.
Together, the trigrams exist movement and harmony as essential principles. used to refer to every one of two or more people or things trigram hangeul: 괘 [gwae]; hanja: 卦 represents one of the four classical elements, as intended below: