 | |
| Proportion | 2:3 |
|---|---|
| Adopted | 1991 |
| Design | A white background with the Korean Peninsula on it in blue |
| Korean Unification Flag | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Korean name | |||||||
| Chosŏn'gŭl | 통일기, 조선반도기 | ||||||
| Hancha | 統一旗, 朝鮮半島旗 | ||||||
| |||||||
| South Korean name | |||||||
| Hangul | 통일기,한반도기 | ||||||
| Hanja | 統一旗,韓半島旗 | ||||||
| |||||||
The Korean Unification Flag is a flag designed to represent all of Korea when North and South Korea participate as one team in various sporting events.
North and South Korea initially planned to compete as one team at the 1990 Asian Games,and conceived the Korean Unification Flag amid logistical difficulties with raising two flags at once. [1] While the unified team effort was not realized,the flag was prominently displayed by an unofficial cheerleading group during the Games.
The flag was first officially used in 1991 when the two countries competed together as a single team in the 41st World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba,Japan. [2]
The background colour is white. In the center is a sky blue [1] silhouette of the Korean Peninsula,including Jeju Island to the southwest. The silhouette is a somewhat smoothed representation of the actual coastline and northern border;according to both Koreas,the shape of the peninsula is "symbolic" and several smaller islands such as Geojedo are visibly omitted. [1] The agreement creating the flag explicitly excluded Maando,Marado,and Dokdo/Liancourt Rocks (the Koreas' westernmost,southernmost,and easternmost islands). [3]
Ulleungdo was added to the flag in 2002,and the disputed Liancourt Rocks were added in 2003.
Around September 2006,Socotra Rock was also added to the flag after an EEZ dispute flare-up with China. It is unconfirmed whether it was present at any future official or unofficial usages of the flag. [1] [2]
Ulleungdo and the Liancourt Rocks were removed in an official capacity at the 2018 Winter Olympics [4] [5] and other events in 2018,following alleged pressure from the IOC and Japan. The IOC has told South Korea that including the Liancourt Rocks officially would be seen as "a political act" and violate the IOC's neutrality,to which South Korea agreed. [1] Japan allegedly pressured South Korea to officially remove Ulleungdo as well,citing the "Chiba precedent" (where the flag's first official use,in Chiba,did not include it). [3] Ulleungdo was added back in 2019.
According to South Korean government policy,it allows use of the Liancourt Rocks variation during private events or by people in an unofficial capacity,including cheerleaders. For example,in the 2018 Winter Olympics,the variation was used on the women's ice hockey team's training uniforms,by the North Korean cheerleading groups during the opening ceremony,and during the team's evaluation match five days prior to the opening ceremony (which was hosted by the Korea Ice Hockey Association and not officially part of the Olympic schedule). Japan has protested these uses. Additionally,it appeared on the team's official (non-training) uniforms four days before the opening ceremony;BBC reported that it was quickly removed following media attention, [1] while Yonhap News Agency reported that it was not removed until just before opening ceremony entry. [6]
The Korean Unification Flag has been officially used at several international events,either for a unified team,or when the two teams march together in the opening ceremony while competing separately.
At the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing and the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships in Incheon,South Korea,unofficial cheerleading groups also prominently displayed the flag. [10]
In addition to international events,inter-Korean sporting events have used the Unification Flag. [19]
The flag was not used in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing,China. Not only was a unified team shelved,but the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG)'s plan to make the two Korean teams enter consecutively during the opening ceremony was rejected due to opposition by the North Korean delegation at the last moment. [20]
During the 2018 Winter Paralympics,negotiations were stalled by North Korean officials requesting that the Liancourt Rocks be included on the flag. [21]
Other occasions on which the flag were used include the following:
According to American scholar and Korea expert Brian Reynolds Myers,South and North Koreans view the flag in different contexts. South Koreans see the flag as representing a peaceful relationship and coexistence with North Korea,whereas North Koreans view its usage by South Koreans as representing a desire to have their country annexed into North Korea. In this sense,Myers says,South Korean usage of the flag is more detrimental to their country's status as to North Korea than North Koreans' usage of it in regards to South Korea. [28]
Korean reunification is the aspired unification of North Korea and South Korea into a singular Korean sovereign state. The process towards reunification of the peninsula while still maintaining two opposing regimes was started by the June 15th North–South Joint Declaration in June 2000, was reaffirmed by the October 4th Declaration in October 2007 and the Panmunjom Declaration in April 2018, and the joint statement of United States President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Singapore Summit in June 2018. In the Panmunjom Declaration, the two countries agreed to work to officially end the Korean conflict in the future.
North Korea competed as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, from 13 to 29 August 2004. This was the nation's seventh appearance at the Olympics since its debut in 1972. North Korean athletes did not attend the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, when they joined the Soviet boycott, and subsequently, led a boycott at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, along with six other nations.
The 2018 Winter Olympics, officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as PyeongChang 2018, were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang, South Korea, with the opening rounds for certain events held on 8 February, a day before the opening ceremony.
Ulleung County is a county in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea.
Ulleungdo is a South Korean island 120 kilometres east of the Korean Peninsula in the Sea of Japan, formerly known as Dagelet Island or Argonaut Island in Europe. Volcanic in origin, the rocky steep-sided island is the top of a large stratovolcano which rises from the seafloor, reaching a maximum elevation of 984 metres (3,228 ft) at Seonginbong Peak. The island is 9.5 kilometres (6 mi) in length and ten kilometres (6 mi) in width; it has an area of 72.86 km2 (28.13 sq mi). It has a population of 10,426 inhabitants.
The Rusk documents are the official diplomatic correspondence sent by Dean Rusk, the United States Assistant Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs, to Yang You-chan, the South Korean ambassador to the U.S. on August 10, 1951.
The Liancourt Rocks, also known by their Korean name of Dokdo or their Japanese name of Takeshima, are a group of islets in the Sea of Japan between the Korean peninsula and the Japanese archipelago administered by South Korea. The Liancourt Rocks comprise two main islets and 35 smaller rocks; the total surface area of the islets is 0.187554 square kilometres and the highest elevation of 168.5 metres (553 ft) is on the West Islet. The Liancourt Rocks lie in rich fishing grounds that may contain large deposits of natural gas. The English name Liancourt Rocks is derived from Le Liancourt, the name of a French whaling ship that came close to being wrecked on the rocks in 1849.
An Yong-bok was a Korean fisherman in 17th century of Joseon Dynasty famous for his travels to Japan. His activities were instrumental in determining fishery rights in the waters of Ulleungdo and the Liancourt Rocks, two islands in the East Sea.
The Liancourt Rocks dispute, also called the Dokdo dispute is a territorial dispute between South Korea and Japan regarding sovereignty over the Liancourt Rocks, a group of small islets in the Sea of Japan. The rocks also go by the names Dokdo and Takeshima. North Korea also claims sovereignty of the islands, but has not pursued its claim to the same extent as the other parties.
The 2018 Winter Paralympics, the 12th Paralympic Winter Games, and also more generally known as the PyeongChang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games, were an international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), that was held in Pyeongchang, South Korea, from 9 to 18 March 2018. They were the second Paralympics to be held in South Korea, following the 1988 Summer Paralympics in Seoul.
Dokdo Museum is the name used for two museums in Korea that relate to the Liancourt Rocks, known as Dokdo in Korean. One of the museums is located on Ulleungdo and the other, which opened later, is in Seoul.
During the Parade of Nations portion of the 2000 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, athletes from each country participating in the Olympics paraded in the arena, preceded by their flag. The flag was borne by a sportsperson from that country chosen either by the National Olympic Committee or by the athletes themselves to represent their country.
During the 2018 Winter Olympics Parade of Nations at the 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony, beginning at 20:00 KST (UTC+9) on 9 February 2018, athletes bearing the flags of their respective nations led their national delegations as they paraded into the Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium in the host city of Pyeongchang, South Korea. 92 teams qualified to compete.
During the closing ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, the flag bearers of 92 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) arrived into Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium on February 25. The flag bearers from each participating country entered the stadium informally in single file, and behind them marched all the athletes. The flags of each country were not necessarily carried by the same flag bearer as in the opening ceremony. The flag-bearers entered in ganada order of the Korean alphabet.
A number of notable controversies and concerns associated with the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea, emerged which were the subject of public debate and media commentary.
North Korea competed in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea. Pair skaters Ryom Tae-ok and Kim Ju-sik qualified for the Games, but the North Korean National Olympic Committee failed to enter them by the 30 October 2017 deadline. On 9 January 2018, North Korea agreed in negotiations with South Korea to send both athletes and a delegation to the Winter Olympics.
A unified team of North and South Korea has played at certain sports competitions under the name Korea.
A unified team of South Korea and North Korea competed under the title "Korea" at the 2018 Winter Olympics in ice hockey.
Dokdo Volunteer Garrison (Korean: 독도의용수비대) was a South Korean paramilitary outpost on the islands of Liancourt Rocks, which are called Dokdo in Korean. South Korea and Japan each claim sovereignty over them. South Korea maintained the garrison from 1953 to 1956.
South Korea and North Korea competed in some events at the 2018 Asian Games as a unified team, under the title "Korea". Both nations also marched together under a unified flag during the opening and closing ceremonies.
By forbearing to march behind the yin-yang flag at the opening ceremony of the Olympics, the South Korean athletes are making a bigger sacrifice than the North Koreans... [T]he peninsula flag means two very different things to the two Koreas. In the South it symbolizes a desire for peaceful co-existence, or at most for a unification of equal partners in the reassuringly remote future. In wall posters above the DMZ it has always symbolized the southern masses' yearning for "autonomous unification," meaning absorption by the North. It's worrying to think how inner-track propaganda is certain to misrepresent the South Koreans' eschewal of their state flag for this of all symbols — and at this of all events.
