The Flag of the United States of America
The Stars and Stripes
The flag of the United States of America is a symbol of the history and the ideals of our great country. Called “Old Glory,” or “The Star-Spangled Banner,” or “The Stars and Stripes,” its colors and patterns hold symbolic meanings. There are 50 white stars on a blue background, and 13 stripes of red and white.
The blue color of the background represents both justice and the blue skys. The 50 stars represent the 50 states - over the years the flag has added additional stars to the initial 13 which signified the original 13 colonies. The 13 stripes also originally stood for the 13 colonies, but also have additional meanings - The white color of the stripes represents purity in the ideals for which this country stands and the red represents the courage of those who have fought to keep our country free.
The South Korean National Flag
Tae Guk
The Korean National Flag, known in Korean as Tae Guk, symbolizes the Oriental philosophy of existence. Tae Guk means “the origin of all that is.” It is symbolized by the symbol of Um-Yang in it’s center. The two opposites of the universe are depicted as intermixing components of Ki, nature’s energy or life force. Um and Yang can be charactarized as positive and negative, male and female, and light and darkness, as well.
The four trigrams in the corners of the flag represent the four elements and the four directions. The trigram at the lower left, E Gye, represents Fire and East - the rising sun. The opposite trigram, located in the upper right is Kam Gye. Kam Gye represents Water and West, the setting sun. Koh Gye, located in the lower right, represents Earth and North - total darkness. The upper left, Kun Gye, represents Air, Heaven and South - full light, day.
Um-Yang
The oriental philosophy of Um (soft) and Yang (hard) relates to the opposites of nature. This philosophy shows everything in nature as circular in design, so that the opposites are required for each other. Good and bad, strong and weak, night and day are not simply opposites, but partners in natures endlessly flowing circular design. Without these qualities we identify as Um or Yang, we would not be able to differentiate between good and evil or between strength and weakness.
Um and Yang are combined in nature’s design of the world. For every element on earth there exists an opposite, each element with it’s opposing component make a whole, and is therefore complete.
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