Aug 15, 2018
National Liberation Day of Korea 2018
This Doodle’s Key Themes
August 15th is the National Liberation Day of Korea or Gwangbokjeol, meaning “Restoration of Light.” One of the few holidays celebrated all over Korea, Gwangbokjeol marks the end of World War II and the Korean peninsula becoming a sovereign nation.
This national holiday is celebrated by Korean communities all over the world by sharing a meal of bibimbap and kimchi, singing Korean folk songs, or playing a game of yut.
The flag seen in today’s Doodle, known as T'aegukki, will be displayed atop public buildings, in doorways or even in trees. The name T'aegukki derives from the taeguk circle in the center, whose red upper section corresponds to the yang and the blue section to the yin. The white background represents peace and purity, while the black trigrams in the four corners illustrate Taoist principles of reality: sky (Geon) on the upper left, water (Gam) on the upper right, earth (Gon) on the lower right, and (Ri) fire on the lower left.
Happy Gwangbokjeol!
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