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Flag of North Korea

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Democratic People's
Republic of Korea
"Blue and Red Flag of the Republic"
UseNational flag and ensign Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Small vexillological symbol or pictogram in black and white showing the different uses of the flag Reverse side is mirror image of obverse side Design has no element that can be rotated
Proportion1:2
Adopted8 September 1948; 75 years ago (1948-09-08)
DesignA wide horizontal red stripe bordered above and below by a thin white stripe and a broad blue stripe. The red stripe is charged near the hoist with a five-pointed red star inside a white circle.
Designed byKim Il Sung[a]

The national flag of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, commonly known as North Korea, consists of a wide horizontal red stripe bordered above and below by a thin white stripe and a broad blue stripe. The red stripe is charged near the hoist with a five-pointed red star inside a white circle. The design of the flag is defined in the North Korean constitution and regulations regarding the use and manufacture of the flag are outlined in the country's national flag law. The North Korean government credits Kim Il Sung, the country's founder and first leader, as the designer of the flag. The flag was officially adopted on 8 September 1948, with the passing of North Korea's first constitution by the Supreme People's Assembly. The North Korean flag is banned in South Korea by the National Security Act.

Names

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In North Korea, the flag is known as the "Blue and Red Flag of the Republic" (람홍색공화국기) or simply the "Flag of the Republic" (공화국기).[1][2] In South Korea, it is known as the "Flag of the People's Republic" (인공기).[1]

Design

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The design of the flag is defined in the Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2014), under Article 170 in Chapter VII. It states:[3]

The national flag of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea consists of a central red panel, bordered both above and below by a narrow white stripe and a broad blue stripe. The central red panel bears a five-pointed red star within a white circle near the hoist. The ratio of the width to the length is 1:2.

The article was retained from the country's provisional constitution, which was drafted in late 1947 and adopted at a special session of the People's Assembly of North Korea in February 1948. During the session, assembly chairman Kim Tu-bong read the article describing the national flag (originally Article 100) and asked for opinions from delegates. Representative An Mong-yong expressed his concerns that the flag would fold easily when hoisted because of its length, and proposed changing the width-to-length ratio of the flag from 1:2 to 2:3. An's proposal was dismissed by Kim Tu-bong, who assured An that the existing dimensions would not be a problem.[4]

Symbolism

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Flag can be hoisted vertically only Vertical display of the national flag of North Korea

Different sources give conflicting explanations of the flag's symbolism. According to an article published on 8 August 2013 in the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, Kim Il Sung gave the following significance to the flag's elements after designing it:[5]

The red colour of the flag symbolises the anti-Japanese fervour, the red blood shed by the Korean patriots and the invincible might of our people firmly united to support the Republic. The white colour symbolises the one bloodline, one land, one language, one culture of our monoethnic country, which lived in purity. And blue stands for the gallant visage of our people, symbolising the spirit of the Korean people fighting for world peace and progress.

Pak Il, a Soviet-Korean interpreter who claims to have translated from Russian the original flag designs proposed by the Soviet government, claimed that the flag was initially intended to be hoisted vertically, and gave the following as the original explanation of the flag's symbolism:[6]

The red stripe was to symbolise the land of the new Korea, illuminated by the red star of communism. The blue stripes surrounding the flag were to symbolise the seas (Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan) surrounding the Korean peninsula.

The US Central Intelligence Agency's World Factbook meanwhile states that the colours of the flag – red, white, and blue – are considered national colours and symbolise, respectively: revolutionary traditions; purity, strength, and dignity; and sovereignty, peace, and friendship. It also states that the red star is a national symbol and represents socialism.[7]

Construction

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The North Korean government has specified sizes, colours, and manufacturing parameters in which the flag is to be made. They are detailed in Appendix I of the National Flag Law of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (2012). The width-to-length ratio of the flag is 1:2. The national flag is divided into six vertical sections, with the top and bottom sixths being blue stripes. The middle four-sixths are further divided into 24 sections, with the top and bottom twenty-fourths being white stripes, and the other twenty-two twenty-fourths being red stripes. The center of the red star and the white circle is at the intersection of the flag's vertical bisector and the horizontal trisector closest to the hoist. The diameter of the white circle is two-thirds the combined height of the red and white stripes, while the circumscribed circle around the red star has a diameter equal to half the height of the white stripe from the white circle's diameter. The points of the red star do not touch the circumference of the white circle.[8]

Construction sheet of the national flag of North Korea

Protocol

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North Korean flags flying near the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun

The national flag law outlines regulations regarding the display and handling of the national flag. The North Korean flag is flown regularly from the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, government buildings, courtrooms, and diplomatic missions abroad. It may also be flown from "other required places and the government office buildings of overseas Korean residents' organizations".[9] Gold tassels measuring one eighth of the flag width may be attached to the fly side of flags flown during diplomatic ceremonies.[10] The flag is flown or draped as a symbol of the state during state holidays and memorial days, election days, and important state events.[11] Between April and September, the flag should be raised at around 7:00 to 8:00 a.m. and lowered at around 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Between October and March, the flag should be raised at around 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. and lowered at around 5:00 to 6:00 p.m.[12] The flag must be raised and lowered slowly by a designated person with an assistant present. The flag must be raised to the end of the flagpole regardless of its use at full-mast or half-mast; in the latter case, the flag should be lowered after reaching the end.[13] The flag may not be raised in severe weather conditions.[14] Damaged, faded or substandard flags must not be used.[15]

The national flag of North Korea takes precedent over other flags of the state, but not necessarily the flags of other countries. When the national flag is flown with other flags of the state, it should be flown first, either in the center or on the opposite left, and higher than the others. During a parade, it should be flown at the front of the procession. The North Korean flag should only be flown alongside the national flags of countries which recognise North Korea; in such cases, all flags must be of the same size and height.[16]

History

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Background

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Flag used by the People's Committee of North Korea and its provisional predecessor between 1946 and 1948
Flag used by the United States Army Military Government in Korea between 1945 and 1948
Kim Il Sung giving a speech in front of the Soviet flag and the Taegukgi in 1946

Korea adopted its first national flag, the Taegukgi (태극기) or "Flag of Great Extremes", in 1882. The Taegukgi is a white field with a centered blue and red taegeuk (derived from Chinese taiji) surrounded by four trigrams, representing sky, water, land, and fire. It was used by the Korean Empire up until its annexation by Imperial Japan in 1910. The flag of Japan subsequently replaced the Taegukgi as the national flag flown on the Korean peninsula, and the Taegukgi became a symbol of anti-Japanese resistance and Korean independence.[17]

The Allies' victory in World War II in 1945 resulted in Japan relinquishing control over Korea and the peninsula being divided into two occupation zones. The Soviet Union occupied the northern half of Korea while the United States occupied the southern half. The Taegukgi was widely used in both occupation zones, and it was not until 1947 that the Soviets began proposing a new flag to their Korean allies.[18]

Creation

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Official account

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The design initially selected by Kim Il Sung, according to North Korean government sources

The North Korean government credits Kim Il Sung with designing the country's national flag. According to the state-run Rodong Sinmun, Kim Il Sung began expressing the necessity of a new national flag and emblem in January 1948. He argued that they were important for future national affairs and would strengthen national pride.[2] A team of artists was tasked with proposing designs for the new flag. Kim Il Sung initially chose a design similar to the flag that was adopted, except its width-to-length ratio was 2:3 and the white circle was in the center and did not feature a charge. In February 1948, Kim Il Sung instructed the artists to change the ratio to 1:2, to add a five-pointed red star to the inside of the circle, and to move the circle towards the hoist.[19] The flag design was then accepted by the Constitutional Reform Committee and written into the provisional constitution on 20 February 1948, confirmed by a special committee of the People's Assembly on 28 April, and officially adopted with the passing of North Korea's first constitution by the Supreme People's Assembly on 8 September.[20]

Kim Tu-bong, an important politician in the early history of North Korea, defended the abolition of the Taegukgi and the adoption of the new flag.

The decision to change the national flag was relatively unpopular among politically active Koreans at the beginning. The prominent leftist Lyuh Woon-hyung, for example, described the flag change as "not right". The Chondoist Chongu Party also criticised the new design and occasionally refused to participate in demonstrations under the flag.[21] When the flag design in the provisional constitution was first read and debated, the representative Chong Chae-yong defended the Taekugi as a symbol of the Korean people's liberation, cherished by Koreans in both the north and south.[22] Following the flag's approval by the People's Assembly in April, Kim Tu-bong felt it necessary to defend the new flag and published a book in August titled On the Establishment of the New National Flag and the Abolition of the Taegukgi. In it, he praises the new flag as a symbol of the country's future and discredits the design of the Taegukgi as overly complex, unintelligible, and rooted in superstition.[23]

The North Korean artist Kim Chu-gyong was originally credited by the North Korean government as the flag's designer. On the 30th anniversary of the founding of North Korea in 1978, he was given an award for designing the North Korean flag and emblem, and a book was published titled In the Embrace of Grace, which included some of his collected writings. He also wrote a detailed account of how he was ordered by Kim Il Sung to make the designs in November 1947, titled The Story of Our Country's National Emblem and National Flag.[24]

Pak Il's account

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Pak Il, a Soviet-Korean interpreter for the Soviet 25th Army, gave a different account of the flag's creation in two interviews, one to the Russian magazine Sovershenno Sekretno in 1992 and another to the South Korean newspaper The Dong-A Ilbo in 1993. According to Pak, the Soviets were responsible for proposing and designing the flag. In 1947, Soviet major general Nikolai Georgiyevich Lebedev summoned Kim Tu-bong to discuss whether the Taegukgi should be retained by a newly-founded North Korea. Kim Tu-bong was in favour of keeping the Taegukgi and attempted to explain to Lebedev the flag's significance within East Asian philosophy. Lebedev dismissed Kim Tu-bong's lecture as nonsense and superstition. A few months later, the Soviets sent a Russian-language document outlining their design to the 7th Department of the 25th Army. Pak was asked to translate it to Korean, and it eventually became the flag of North Korea. However, Pak's account has not been corroborated by other sources.[25]

Legality in South Korea

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It is illegal to carry or raise the North Korean flag in South Korea; the country's National Security Act prohibits actions that may be interpreted as pro-communist.[26][27] However, South Korean authorities made an exception for the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and allowed the North Korean flag to be flown at event venues and the Olympic Village.[27]

Notable uses

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The North Korean village of Kijong-dong, near the Military Demarcation Line and within the Korean Demilitarized Zone, is the location of a 270-kilogram (600 lb) North Korean flag which flies from a 160-metre (525-foot) flagpole. It was constructed in response to the South Korean side's raising of a 140-kilogram (300 lb) flag on a 98-metre (323-foot) flagpole in Daeseong-dong.[28][29]

Massive North Korean flags are displayed during the Arirang Mass Games in Pyongyang. One such display is made by thousands of people holding up coloured cards.[30][31]

  • The North Korean flag flying in Kijong-dong
    The North Korean flag flying in Kijong-dong
  • A massive North Korean flag at the Arirang Mass Games
    A massive North Korean flag at the Arirang Mass Games
  • A North Korean flag flies near the Juche Tower in Pyongyang
    A North Korean flag flies near the Juche Tower in Pyongyang

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ North Korean government sources credit Kim Il Sung with designing the flag. This credit was previously given to the North Korean artist Kim Chu-gyong. Pak Il, a Soviet-Korean interpreter, claims that the Soviet government designed the flag.

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ a b Busan City News 2003.
  2. ^ a b Lee 2022.
  3. ^ Socialist Constitution of the DPRK 2014, Chapter VII, Article 170.
  4. ^ Tertitskiy 2016, pp. 271–272.
  5. ^ Tertitskiy 2014.
  6. ^ Tertitskiy 2016, p. 270.
  7. ^ Central Intelligence Agency 2024.
  8. ^ National Flag Law of the DPRK 2012, Appendix I.
  9. ^ National Flag Law of the DPRK 2012, Chapter III, Article 16.
  10. ^ National Flag Law of the DPRK 2012, Chapter II, Article 9.
  11. ^ National Flag Law of the DPRK 2012, Chapter III, Article 17.
  12. ^ National Flag Law of the DPRK 2012, Chapter III, Article 15.
  13. ^ National Flag Law of the DPRK 2012, Chapter III, Articles 28 and 30.
  14. ^ National Flag Law of the DPRK 2012, Chapter III, Article 27.
  15. ^ National Flag Law of the DPRK 2012, Chapter III, Article 29.
  16. ^ National Flag Law of the DPRK 2012, Chapter III, Article 28.
  17. ^ Tertitskiy 2016, pp. 267–268.
  18. ^ Tertitskiy 2016, pp. 268–269.
  19. ^ Choi 1999, p. 99.
  20. ^ Choi 1999, pp. 99–100.
  21. ^ Tertitskiy 2016, p. 274.
  22. ^ Tertitskiy 2016, p. 272.
  23. ^ Tertitskiy 2016, pp. 274–275.
  24. ^ Lee 2019.
  25. ^ Tertitskiy 2016, pp. 269–270.
  26. ^ Rutherford 2014.
  27. ^ a b Nutley 2018.
  28. ^ Bonnett 2014, p. 104.
  29. ^ Potts 1999.
  30. ^ The Guardian 2015.
  31. ^ Burnett 2013, p. 18.

Sources

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Books

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  • Bonnett, Alastair (17 April 2014). Off the Map: Lost Spaces, Invisible Cities, Forgotten Islands, Feral Places and What They Tell Us About the World. Aurum. ISBN 978-1-78131-267-4.
  • Pringsheim, Klaus H. (1967). "North Korea Under the Hammer and Sickle: A Non-Marxist View". In Shaffer, Harry G. (ed.). The Communist World: Marxist and Non-Marxist Views. New York: Ardent Media. OCLC 228608.

Journal articles

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News and magazine articles

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Government publications

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Further reading

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  • Ahn, Sung-kyu (12 October 2012). 인공기는 어떻게 만 들어졌나 [How the North Korean Flag was Created]. 바로 잡아야 할 우리 역사 37장면 [37 Episodes of History which Need to Be Straightened Out]. Seoul: Institute for Korean Historical Studies. pp. 241–248.
  • Thomas, Dean (2014). "Flags and Emblems of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea". Raven: A Journal of Vexillology (in Korean). 21: 95–115. doi:10.5840/raven2014215. ISSN 1071-0043.
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