남북한의 국가상징과 법

Abstract

Every state has its national flag, national hymn, national flower, or national bird etc. The national symbol is an interesting and important topic to study the identity of a state. Looking forward to the national reunification in the future, South and North Koreas have the common task to reconsider their own state symbols. This essay deals the historical process of the making the state symbols in South and North and its legal regulations in both regimes. I. The Republic of Korea in South takes the Taegukki as its national flag. The Taegukki was invented by King Kojong in 1882 and was ordered to be used. On the ship to Japan next year, the Ambassador Youngho Park used it officially for the first time. This flag represents the traditional Yin-yang cosmology, so it is well-known as a 'very philosophical' flag. During the Japanese ruling period 1910-45, this flag was not permitted to be seen at all. In 1949 after the national liberation, a Committee for the Reviewing the National Flag was organized under the Ministry of Education. 42 members of this Committee discussed and reassured the Taegukki as the national flag of the newly-born Republic of Korea. For the legal ground of this flag, an Presidential Decree on the National Flag was promulgated in 1984. According to the public opinion survey carried by the Research Institute with the Personnel Ministry, 59.0% of the respondents were satisfied with this national flag. Nearly 40% of the respondents think that this national flag is too complicate and negative as the symbol of the national reunification. II. In North Korea, in November 1947, Kim Ilsung ordered to the 3rd People's Assembly to adopt a national flag. In February, 1948, Kim ordered to draw a star mark in the flag. According to a recent Newspaper report, the order to draw a star was made by the USSR authority. Thereafter, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has used the Hongnam Ogakpyolki as its national flag. In 1992, the National Flag Law was newly promulgated, and the National Emblem Law was adopted in 1993. III. To compare these two state flags and emblems, there are quite evident differences in forms and meanings. The South Korean Taegukki seems more history-based, Asian-philosophical; the North Korean Hongnam Ogakpyolki is revolutionary and progressive. The legal regulations of law are also different; The South Korea has a Presidential Decree on National Flag(1984), the North Korea has the National Flag Law(1992) and the National Emblem Law(1993). With the reunification of Korean territory, the problem of the national symbol would be basically raised. It will be dependent on the fact how the reunification will be accomplished. It is still not the stage to project a draft for a unified nation. It seems, however, that a new state symbol would be designed for a new unified Korea. There have been several dialogues between the South and the North on the problem of national symbol, especially through the participation in several international sports games as a unified team. Nevertheless, because the state symbol represents the national legitimacy and authority, the dialogues have been not always easy and contain still some basic problems.