The Korean Flag symbolically encourages the mind to observe and interpret the varied meanings of the universe. The circle represents the Absolute, or the essential unity of all being. The Yang (positive) and Yin (negative) divisions within the circle represent eternal duality: heaven and earth, fire and water, good and evil, male and female, night and day. dark and light, life and death. being and not being.

The four trigrams surrounding the Tae Kuk also carry the idea of opposites and of balance. The three unbroken lines stand for heaven, opposite this is the trigram for earth, three broken lines. At the upper right hand corner of the flag are two lines with a unbroken line between symbolizing fire. Opposite is the symbol for water. The three aspects of a nation are the land, the people, and the government. These are symbolized on the Tae Kuk: the white ground represents the land, the circle represents the people, and the four sets of bars represent the government.