The flag of South Korea as we know it now, was not adopted until January 25th 1950.

The flag of South Korea consists of a blue and red circle, which is surrounded by four black trigrams on a white background. The white background of the flag symbolises the purity of the Korean people and their peace-loving spirit. The emblem in the centre of the flag represents the dual forces of yin (blue) and yang (red). Acording to traditional philosophy, the two symbolise the great cosmic forces, which oppose each other but achieve harmony and balance. The trigrams represent the elements of fire, water, earth, wood, and metal.

In Korean the national flag is called 'Taegukki' ('Great Polarity'), taking its name from the central emblem on the flag, which is called a 'taegeuk circle'.

Gojong proclaimed the Taegeukgi to be the official flag of Korea on March 6, 1883.