Flag of North Korea
( 람홍색공화국기발 )

 

The flag of North Korea (officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea) was adopted on 8 September 1948, as the national flag and ensign. The flag is defined in Article 170 of Chapter VII of the North Korean constitution.

• Adopted - 8 September 1948
• Design - A wide red stripe at the center, bordered by a narrow white stripe both above and below, followed by a blue stripe. The central red stripe carries a five-pointed red star within a white circle near the hoist.

History

The flag was adopted when the northern portion of Korea became a socialist republic supported by the People's Republic of China and the Soviet Union following the restoration of independence of Korea and the surrender of the Empire of Japan. The colors of the Korean Empire flag were white, blue, and a pale shade of red bordering on orange. North Korea retained these colors for its new flag, with more prominence given to the red, per communist symbolism, and added a red star on a white disk.

A 270-kg (600 lb) North Korean national flag flies from the world's third tallest flagpole, which is located at Kijŏng-dong, on the North Korean side of the Military Demarcation Line within the Korean Demilitarized Zone. The flag-pole is 160 meters (520 feet) tall.

There are several other known flags in use. There are flags for the Korean People's Army, and its two subdivisions the Korean People's Air Force and Korean People's Navy, which follow a common design but with different colors (blue and white for the Navy and dark blue and light blue for the Air Force). There is also a flag of the ruling Worker's Party of Korea, modeled after similar communist party flags, and a flag for the Supreme Commander of the KPA used by Kim Jong-un, which has the Supreme Commander's Arms on a red field.

Symbolism

The North Korean flag's prominent red star is a universal symbol of communism, although since the flag's adoption, the philosophy of Juche has replaced Marxism-Leninism as the state's guiding ideology, and references to Communism have been systematically removed from the country's constitution and legal documents. The disk recalls the taegeuk found on the flag of the Korean Empire, and represents the opposing principles of nature. The red stripe expresses revolutionary traditions. The two blue stripes stand for sovereignty, peace and friendship. The white stripes symbolize purity.

An official website for the Democratic Republic of Korea indicates, on the contrary, the red star represents revolutionary traditions, the red panel is indicative of the patriotism and determination of the Korean people. The white stripes symbolizes the unified nation and its culture. The blue stripes represent unity.

Korea ( 한국 ) called Hanguk in South Korea and Chosŏn in North Korea, is an East Asian territory that is divided into two distinct sovereign states, North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by China to the northwest and Russia to the northeast. It is separated from Japan to the east by the Korea Strait and the Sea of Japan (East Sea). For more information View Korea ( 한국 ) »