#42 FOTW - Seoul, South Korea

The national flag of the Republic of Korea, also known as the Taegeukgi, has three parts: a white rectangular background, and a red and blue taegeuk in its center, accompanied by four black trigrams, one in each corner. Flags similar to the current Taegeukgi were used as the national flag of Korea by the Joseon dynasty, the Korean Empire, as well as the Korean government in exile during Japanese rule. South Korea adopted Taegeukgi as its national flag in 1948.

The flag's field is white, a traditional colour in Korean culture that was common in the daily attire of 19th-century Koreans and still appears in contemporary versions of traditional Korean garments such as the hanbok. The colour represents peace and purity. The circle in the flag's centre symbolizes balance in the world. Derived from the Chinese I Ching and Taiji (philosophy), known in the West as the Yin and Yang, the blue half represents negative energy (Yin), and the red half represents the positive energy (Yang).