Flag of North Korea
Asia
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Pyongyang
- Flag adopted
- 1948
- Population
- 25,950,000
- Area
- 120,538 km²
- Languages
- Korean
- Currency
- North Korean won (₩) — KPW
- Demonym
- North Korean
- Government
- dictatorship, single-party communist state
- Subregion
- Eastern Asia
- Driving side
- Right
- Timezones
- UTC+09:00
- Independence
- 1945
About This Flag
The flag of North Korea consists of a wide red central band bordered by thin white stripes, which are in turn bordered by blue bands at the top and bottom. On the red band near the hoist sits a white circle bearing a red five-pointed star.
The red band and star represent revolutionary traditions and the communist ideology of the state. The white stripes symbolize purity, strength, and the dignity of the Korean people.
The blue bands represent sovereignty, peace, and the aspiration for international friendship. The flag was adopted on September 8, 1948, when the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was formally established, deliberately breaking from the traditional Taeguk design used by a unified Korea.
What the colors & design mean
Red symbolizes the revolutionary spirit, patriotism, and the blood shed in the anti-Japanese struggle. White represents the purity and cultural heritage of the Korean nation. Blue represents sovereignty, peace, and international friendship. The red star signifies communist ideology.
Pattern: Horizontal Stripes
Bordering countries (3)
Fun Facts
- Before the division of Korea, both North and South used variations of the Taegukgi design — the North deliberately abandoned it in 1948 to create a flag reflecting its communist ideology.
- North Korea's flag is one of the few communist-state flags that does not include a hammer and sickle, using instead a simple red star as its socialist emblem.
- The flag flies continuously at the Kijong-dong 'peace village' near the DMZ on the world's fourth-tallest flagpole at approximately 160 meters, part of a decades-long 'flagpole war' with South Korea.
- North Korea and South Korea remain technically at war, as the 1950-1953 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
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