Korea (1882–1910)

Known as the Taegeukgi, this design became Korea’s national flag in the early 1880s after a model was presented by Bak Yeong‑hyo; it was officially adopted in 1883. The central red (yang) and blue (yin) Taegeuk symbolizes the balance of opposites, and the four black trigrams represent concepts from traditional cosmology, including directions and seasons. Early versions varied in details, but the red‑blue Taegeuk with four trigrams on white was established by the late 1890s and remained Korea’s state flag until the 1910 Japanese annexation.