My post about the Feng Shui of the American flag has proven enduringly popular, so I thought it would be interesting to take an occasional look at the Feng Shui of other flags from around the world, starting with the South Korean flag.
The South Korean flag is a great example of a “philosophical” flag — its symbolism is overt and sends a clear message about how the country would like to be seen.
In fact this flag has a name, Taegukki, which means “Great Extremes.”
The South Korean flag illustrates its theme with symbols of opposites that are also found in the I Ching and on the Feng Shui Bagua Map.
Specifically,
- Clockwise from bottom left the four black & white trigrams around the central circle symbolize Fire, Heaven, Water and Earth. Opposites are situated diagonally from each other: Fire opposite Water, Heaven (the father) oppposite Earth (the mother).
- The central circle itself contains a modified Yin-Yang symbol, showing an awareness that all things are connected, interdependent, and ever-changing.
- And the white background is associated with the Metal element — considered the “purest” of the Five Elements and here symbolizing the “cleanliness of the people.”
- The Wood element appears in the dark blue of the Yin-Yang symbol.
To me this flag feels mysterious, strong and thought-provoking. It sends a message that this small country embraces tradition and positive energy, while remaining steadfast and withstanding the pressure of external forces.
But if you knew nothing about Eastern philosophy it might look like secret codes or a giant satellite in outer space!
What do you think of when you see it?
(Factual info in this article drawn from Wikipedia and other sources.)
