Incheon City Removes Gwangbokjeol Banner Featuring 'Upside-Down' Taegeukgi in Two Days

Incheon City has taken down a Gwangbokjeol (National Liberation Day) commemorative banner just two days after installation due to controversy over a depiction of the Taegeukgi, South Korea's national flag, appearing upside down.

On the 6th, Incheon City installed the Liberation Day commemorative banner near the pedestrian crossing at the rear gate of City Hall.

The banner depicts an independence activist running forward while holding the national flag in both hands.

However, consecutive complaints were raised pointing out that the Taegeuk symbol on the flag in the banner was reversed, with blue on top and red on the bottom, as seen in the image.

Incheon City explained that the design represented a view looking up from below at someone waving the flag, and maintained that the flag was not drawn incorrectly.

The city stated that the basic layout of the flag, including the positions of the four trigrams, was normal.

Nevertheless, judging that misunderstandings could spread, the city removed the banner on the morning of the 8th.

Incheon City plans to put up a revised banner before the 15th of this month, which marks the 81st anniversary of Liberation Day.

(Photo courtesy of Incheon City)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.