Korean Unification Flag

The Korean Unification Flag (Template:Korean), also known as the Flag of the Korean Peninsula (Template:Korean or {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}), is a flag used to represent all of Korea. When North Korea and South Korea participate as one team at international sporting events, the flag is carried by the unified team. It was introduced at the 1990 Asian Games but was not used by a unified team until the 1991 World Table Tennis Championships. Outside of sports, the flag has been used, particularly in North Korea, to express support for Korean reunification.

The flag is a white field charged in the center with a sky blue silhouette of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and Ulleungdo. The flag's depiction of Korean territorial claims has earned it the chagrin of Japan, which claims the Liancourt Rocks. The disputed islets were added to the flag in 2003 but removed in 2018 upon the request of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Background and creation

Korea has been divided along the 38th parallel since the conclusion of World War II with the surrender of Japan on 15 August 1945. Exactly three years later, on 15 August 1948, the American-occupied south established the Republic of Korea, and the Soviet-occupied north followed suit with the proclamation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on 9 September. As separate sovereign states, North Korea and South Korea have since competed at international sporting events with their own teams, although they both claim to be the sole representative of the entire Korean Peninsula.

A detente in inter-Korean relations came during the 1990 Asian Games in Beijing, China, when both countries agreed to compete as a unified team. The "Unification Flag" was conceived amid logistical difficulties with simultaneously raising two flags (i.e. the flag of North Korea and the flag of South Korea).<ref name="BBC20180120">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> While the unified team effort was not realized, the flag was prominently displayed by an unofficial cheerleading group during the games.<ref name="auto"/> The flag made its official debut in 1991, when North Korea and South Korea competed together as a single team at the 41st World Table Tennis Championships in Chiba, Japan.<ref name="historyqz">Template:Cite news</ref>

Design

The current variation of the flag features a sky blue silhouette of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and Ulleungdo on a white background.<ref name="BBC20180120" /> The silhouette is a smoothened representation of the actual coastline and northern border with China. According to both Koreas, the shape of Korea is meant to be symbolic rather than precise, and several smaller islands such as Geojedo are visibly omitted.<ref name="BBC20180120" /> The agreement creating the flag explicitly excluded Korea's westernmost, southernmost, and easternmost islands: Template:Interlanguage link, Marado, and Dokdo (Liancourt Rocks), respectively.<ref name="yonhap">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Variations

The original design of the flag featured only the Korean Peninsula and Jeju Island. Ulleungdo was added 2002 and the Liancourt Rocks were added in 2003. Socotra Rock was added to the flag around September 2006, after a dispute between South Korea and China over their exclusive economic zones.<ref name="BBC20180120" /><ref name="historyqz" />

Ulleungdo and the Liancourt Rocks were removed in an official capacity at the 2018 Winter Olympics<ref name="IOC20180120">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="IOCAnnexB">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and other events in 2018, following pressure from the IOC and Japan. The IOC told South Korea that including the Liancourt Rocks would be viewed as "a political act" and violate the IOC's neutrality, to which South Korea agreed.<ref name="BBC20180120" /> Japan allegedly pressured South Korea to officially remove Ulleungdo as well, citing the fact that it was not on the flag used in Chiba in 1990.<ref name="yonhap" /> Ulleungdo was added back in 2019.

South Korean government policy allows the use of the Liancourt Rocks variation during private events or by people acting in an unofficial capacity, such as cheerleaders. For example, in the 2018 Winter Olympics, the Liancourt Rocks 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 protested these uses. Additionally, the Liancourt Rocks variation appeared on the team's official uniforms four days before the opening ceremony; BBC reported that it was quickly removed following media attention,<ref name=BBC20180120/> while Yonhap News Agency reported that it was not removed until just before the athletes entered the opening ceremony.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

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Usage

In sporting events

File:Korean unification flag seoul world cup stadium 2005.jpg

Flag at the Seoul World Cup Stadium 2005

The Korean Unification Flag has been officially used at several international events, either for a unified team, or for when the two teams march together in the opening ceremony while competing separately. In addition to international events, inter-Korean sporting events have used the Unification Flag.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

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.<ref name="auto" />

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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

During the 2018 Winter Paralympics, negotiations were stalled by North Korean officials requesting that the Liancourt Rocks be included on the flag.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Official usage in international sports

Event	Location	Usage	Ulleungdo	Liancourt Rocks	Socotra Rock	Template:Abbr
1991 World Table Tennis Championships	Chiba, Japan	Unified team	File:X mark.svg	File:X mark.svg	File:X mark.svg	<ref name=BBC20180120/>
1991 FIFA World Youth Championship	Lisbon, Portugal	Unified team	File:X mark.svg	File:X mark.svg	File:X mark.svg	<ref name=BBC20180120/>
2000 Summer Olympics	Sydney, Australia	Opening ceremony	File:X mark.svg	File:X mark.svg	File:X mark.svg	<ref name=reutersolympics>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=BBC20180120/><ref name="historyqz"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2002 Asian Games	Busan, South Korea	Opening ceremony	File:Yes check.svg	File:X mark.svg	File:X mark.svg	<ref name=BBC20180120/>
2003 Asian Winter Games	Aomori, Japan	Opening ceremony	File:Yes check.svg	File:Yes check.svg	File:X mark.svg	<ref name=BBC20180120/>
2003 Summer Universiade	Daegu, South Korea	Opening ceremony	?	?	File:X mark.svg	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2004 Summer Olympics	Athens, Greece	Opening ceremony	File:Yes check.svg	File:Yes check.svg	File:X mark.svg	<ref name=reutersolympics/>
2005 East Asian Games	Macau	Opening ceremony	File:Yes check.svg	File:Yes check.svg	File:X mark.svg	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2006 Winter Olympics	Turin, Italy	Opening ceremony	File:Yes check.svg	File:Yes check.svg	File:X mark.svg	<ref name=reutersolympics/>
2006 Asian Games	Doha, Qatar	Opening ceremony	File:Yes check.svg	File:Yes check.svg	File:Yes check.svg	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="yonhap"/>
2007 Asian Winter Games	Changchun, China	Opening ceremony	File:Yes check.svg	File:Yes check.svg	?	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="yonhap"/>
2018 Winter Olympics	Pyeongchang, South Korea	Unified team	File:X mark.svg	File:X mark.svg	File:X mark.svg	<ref name=BBC20180120/><ref name=IOC20180120/><ref name=IOCAnnexB/>
2018 World Team Table Tennis Championships	Halmstad, Sweden	Unified team	File:X mark.svg	File:X mark.svg	File:X mark.svg	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2018 Korea Open	Daejeon, South Korea	Unified team	File:X mark.svg	File:X mark.svg	File:X mark.svg	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2018 Asian Games	Jakarta and Palembang, Indonesia	Unified team	File:X mark.svg	File:X mark.svg	File:X mark.svg	<ref name="yonhap"/>
2018 Asian Para Games	Jakarta, Indonesia	Unified team	File:X mark.svg	File:X mark.svg	File:X mark.svg	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2019 World Men's Handball Championship	Germany and Denmark	Unified team	File:Yes check.svg	File:X mark.svg	File:X mark.svg	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In other contexts

File:Christmas Festival at Cheonggyecheon.jpg

Flag at the Seoul Christmas Festival 2015

According to American Koreanist Brian Reynolds Myers, North Korea and South Korea view the flag in different political contexts. South Koreans view the flag as representing a peaceful relationship and coexistence with North Korea, whereas North Koreans view it as representing a desire to have Korea reunited under the leadership of the North Korean government.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2010, a large group of North Korean citizens and officials waved the flag when saying goodbye to South Korean Reverend Han Sang-ryol, who was returning to South Korea from North Korea by crossing the Military Demarcation Line at the Korean DMZ. He was immediately arrested upon his return to South Korea.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

See also

• Chinese Taipei Olympic flag