South Korea’s national flag is the Taegeukgi: a white 2:3 rectangle with a central red-and-blue taegeuk and four black trigrams. The circle’s diameter is half the hoist. The current specification must be distinguished from earlier, variably drawn flags.
Specification
Articles 4 and 7 of the national flag Act establish the name, central device, four trigrams, white field, red upper and blue lower portions, black bars, and 3:2 fly-to-hoist proportions. This record states that ratio as hoist : fly 2:3. The Act permits specified exceptions for special occasions; this specimen uses the standard rectangular form.
Physical color specification
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) publishes these values under Enforcement Decree Article 8. They specify color in Munsell and CIE systems; the ministry’s table supplies no CIE coordinates for white or black.
| Color | Munsell | CIE x, y, Y |
|---|---|---|
| Red | 6.0R 4.5/14 | 0.5640, 0.3194, 15.3 |
| Blue | 5.0PB 3.0/12 | 0.1556, 0.1354, 6.5 |
| Black | N 0.5 | Not listed |
| White | N 9.5 | Not listed |
Screen specimen
SVG screen value / #CD2E3ASVG screen value / #0047A0The SVG also uses #FFFFFF and #000000. These are reproduction values from the asset, not statutory HEX colors or certified conversions of the physical standards. For manufacture, use the official specification and appropriate material color matching.
Construction notes
Enforcement Decree Article 6 centers the circle at the intersection of the flag’s diagonals. Its diameter is half the hoist. On the descending diagonal from upper hoist to lower fly, bisect that diameter: draw a semicircle below the left half and another above the right half, each with diameter one-quarter of the hoist. This forms the red–blue boundary.
Each trigram is centered on a diagonal with its bars perpendicular to it. Bar length is one-quarter hoist; the complete three-bar group is one-sixth hoist deep. Bar thickness is one twenty-fourth hoist. Both inter-bar spaces and breaks in divided bars are one forty-eighth hoist. The nearest group edge is one-eighth hoist from the circle along the diagonal.
| Position | Name | Bar pattern | MOIS interpretation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper hoist | Geon / 건 | Three unbroken bars | Heaven |
| Upper fly | Gam / 감 | Broken, unbroken, broken | Water |
| Lower hoist | Ri / 이 (also romanized i) | Unbroken, broken, unbroken | Fire |
| Lower fly | Gon / 곤 | Three broken bars | Earth |
The inspected SVG uses a 144 × 96 viewBox, circle radius 24, bar length 24, group depth 16, stroke width 4, and gaps 2. Its rotations approximate the diagonal angle arctan(2/3). These coordinates are a check of the reproduction, not a separate production standard.
Symbols and use
MOIS explains white as brightness, purity, and a peace-loving tradition; red and blue express the harmony of yang and yin. The four trigrams represent heaven, earth, water, and fire.
Articles 8 and 9 provide for public display, including year-round hoisting at government and public-institution buildings and display on national holidays. Ordinary display is at full mast; mourning display lowers the flag by its hoist. These usage rules are separate from the drawing specification.
Historical record
MOIS dates the royal proclamation to 6 March 1883. Early versions varied because detailed construction rules were absent. Following establishment of the Republic of Korea on 15 August 1948, the government issued standardized construction guidelines on 15 October 1949.
The national flag Act was enacted on 26 January 2007; its Enforcement Decree followed in July 2007. The Taegeukgi remains current under this framework, as amended. The 1883 proclamation, 1949 standardization, and later legislation are distinct events; the modern SVG is not a reconstruction of every earlier version.
Source trail
Checked 6 September 2026. Korean legislation is the primary text; the English translation assists reading.
- National Law Information Center: 대한민국국기법 ↗ — Act, consolidated 28 January 2014; Articles 4 and 7–9. Direct Article 7 text ↗. KLRI English translation ↗ — earlier 2011 consolidation; enactment date and terminology.
- National Law Information Center: Enforcement Decree ↗ — consolidation of 26 July 2017; Article 6 construction and Article 8 colors. Seoul Metropolitan Council: reproduced decree, attachment 3 ↗ — searchable Korean drawing instructions.
- MOIS: flag construction and standard chromaticity ↗ — official construction guidance and physical color table.
- MOIS: The National Flag — Taegeukgi ↗ — status, history, proclamation, standardization, and attributed symbolism.
- Wikimedia Commons: specimen source code, authorship, and public-domain declaration ↗. See the local asset register for the exact provenance and geometry review.
Browse more national flags or compare the centered-disc construction of Japan.