Why do we hang Korean flags in our dojangs?
Everyone who practices Taekwondo at least know the origins of Taekwondo and they see the Korean flag whenever they enter the dojang to train.
Having the Korean flag hanging on the wall next your homeland flag is honoring the country who founded this martial art, and the master and the students are showing respect to it through bowing each time they enter or start training and when they leave the dojang.The more you train for many years, the more you learn about the Taekwondo and the Korean culture, therefore you feel in love of that country and you dream to visit it one day, in order to discover in person the Korean culture and how Koreans do train.
The Korean Flag of Korea was adopted in 1882 and was representing the entire United kingdom of Korea but after that it was representing only South Korea.
The Korean flag also called Taegukgi is composed of three parts, the first is the white background, the second is the circle in the center composed of red and blue and the third is composed of four black lines.
The blue (Yin) and red (Yang) in the circle in the center are called Taegeuk and they are a symbol of Yin and Yang, which represents the balance of the opposing powers of: heaven/earth, fire/water, good/evil...
What do the trigrams mean?
1- The left trigram on the top:
It is called Geon and it refers to heaven, spring, east, humanity, father, justice.
2- The left trigram down:
It is called Ri, and refers to sun, autumn, south, righteousness, daughter, fire and fruition.
3- The right trigram on the top:
It is called gam and it refers to mon, winter, north, intelligence, son, water,and wisdom.
4- The right corner down:
It is called Gon and it refers to earth, summer, west, courtesy, mother, earth and vitality.
Hanging the Korean flag inside the Taekwondo Dojangs is also another way to distinguish the Korean martial art from the Japanese or Chinese fighting styles.
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