Hey, flag! Tell us about yourself!
"I am the Hinomaru, which means "sun disc." The sun disc, which is actually my red circle, has been the symbol of Japan for centuries. Many Japanese flags have used the sun disc.
"You may have seen a different flag in a war movie. It is called the Rising Sun. The Japanese navy used it during World War II. Some people think that it was the Japanese national flag during the war, but they are mistaken. The Rising Sun was only a military flag.
"I have been the Japanese flag for a long time.
"In the year 1274, the Mongols attacked Japan. Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist priest, presented a sun flag to a very powerful Japanese warrior. He believed that with this symbol, the Japanese could defeat the Mongols. Ever since then, the sun disc has been an important symbol for the Japanese."
Hey, flag! Tell us about yourself.
"I am the flag of the People's Republic of China. I have been used since 1920, but I looked a little different back then. I got my new look in 1949. Red is the color of the Communist Revolution, which happened almost one hundred years ago. During the revolution, many people died to make China a communist country.
"In a communist country, the goal is for all the people to be treated equally and for them to share all the wealth. So the Chinese people are proud of my red color.
"I have five yellow stars. The large star represents the Communist Party of China. The Communist Party leads all the Chinese people. The four small stars represent the Chinese people. Some people say that the small stars represent the workers, farmers, scholars, and business owners. The five stars show that all the people are united under the Communist Party."
Hey, flag! Tell us about yourself.
"I am the flag of the Republic of Korea. You can call me the Taegeukgi. I have looked like this since 1950, but other flags similar to me have been used by Korean kings for hundreds of years. Many hundreds of years ago, my colors were very different. In 1882, I looked almost the same as I do now. Can you see the differences?
"My design and colors have changed, but my meaning remains the same. It comes from a very old oriental philosophy. The circle in the center is a symbol of eum-yang, which the Chinese people call yin-yang.The blue part represents eum, which is negative, dark, and cold. The red part represents yang, which is positive, bright, and hot. Together, they symbolize balance and harmony.
"The bar on my top-left side means the sky; the one on the top-right means water; the bottom-left one means fire; and the bottom-right one means the earth.
"Most importantly, I am not a flag of war, but one that stands for peace and harmony. Even my white background represents peace and purity.
"If you want to know about the history of a country, start by learning about its flag. A flag can speak a thousand words."