National Flag & Flower

The Korean National Flag, Taegeukgi, adopted during the latter years of the Joseon Dynasty, takes its name from the Taegeuk circle in the center of the flag, which is divided equally and in perfect balance.

The upperred section represents yang and the blue lower section represents eum an ancient symbol of the universe - depicting the powerful cosmic forces that oppose each other but achieve perfect harmony and balance: fire and water, day and night, dark and light, masculine and feminine, heat and clod, positive and negative, and so on.

The trigrams bars at each corner also carry the ideas of opposition and balance. The three unbroken lines stand for heaven; the oppesite three broken lines represent earth. At the lower left corner are two lines with a broken line in between, symbolizing fire. Diagonally opposite is the symbol of water. The white background shows the purity of the Korean people and their peace-loving spirit. The flag as a whole symbolizes the ideal of the Korean people of living in harmony with the universe.

Mugunghwa, or the Rose of Sharon, is the national flower of Korea.

The word, "mugung" means immortality, which is most appropriate as unlike most flowers, the mugunghwa is remarkably tenacious and is able to withstand both blight and insect.