Latest news with #Taegeukgi
Korea Herald
20-07-2025
- General
- Korea Herald
Denny Taegeukgi lights up Seoul to mark 80 years of liberty
Immersive video of Korea's national flag shown at National Museum Korea, Shinsegae Square's outdoor LED screens The oldest remaining prototype of the Taegeukgi, South Korea's national flag, is being displayed on large screens in Seoul to mark the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule. An immersive video featuring the historic flag will be shown on the National Museum of Korea's outdoor light-emitting diode screen until Oct. 12, as well as at Shinsegae Square in Myeong-dong every 10 minutes through Aug. 15, which is the Liberation Day holiday. The "Denny" version of the Taegeukgi, housed at the state-run museum, is the oldest and the largest extant of Korea's national flag, measuring 262 centimeters in width and 182.5 centimeters in length. The flag was part of a collection held by Owen Nickerson Denny (1838-1900), an American diplomatic adviser to King Gojeong in 1886. The flag was presented by the Joseon era's King Gojong (1863-1907) to Owen Denny around 1890, before he left the country the following year. His descendant, William Ralston, donated the flag to the NMK in 1981, according to the museum. The one-minute video of the flag brings to life the history and spirit of Korea through the Denny Taegeukgi, using powerful visuals to show its journey from oppression to hope and national pride. It opens with a realistic re-creation of the original flag, made of white cotton with a red and blue taeguk and hand-stitched blue trigrams. Shadows and darkness soon follow, representing the dark period of Japanese colonization and Korea's suffering. As the light returns, the flag gradually regains its colors, representing hope and restoration. The original flag will also be physically displayed at the national museum until Oct. 12 as part of the special exhibition "80th Anniversary of Liberation: Faces We Meet Anew," in celebration of Liberation Day. "The museum has created a digital piece that brings the history and meaning of the Denny Taegeukgi to life, as part of the museum's efforts to combine new technology with cultural stories. We will continue to create innovative content that leverages technology to further elevate the museum's standing," Kim Jae-hong, the NMK's director general, said in a press release.
Korea Herald
11-07-2025
- General
- Korea Herald
Korea Heritage Service to recruit attendees for 80th Liberation Day exhibition opening
Public invited to reflect on legacy of independence at Deoksugung's Seokjojeon Hall The Korea Heritage Service is recruiting 150 attendees to participate in the official opening ceremony of an exhibition commemorating the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule. The event will provide participants with a meaningful opportunity to reflect on the history and cultural legacy of Korea's independence movement. 'The Radiant Heritage of Independence' exhibition will take place at Seokjojeon — Korea's first Western-style stone building, constructed in 1910 — located in Deoksugung, one of the five major palaces of the Joseon era (1392–1910) in central Seoul. It will run from Aug. 12 to Oct. 12. Applications to attend the opening ceremony will be accepted via the Korea Heritage Service's official website from 1 p.m. Monday to 6 p.m. Thursday. Each applicant may register up to five people, and participation is free of charge. Selected participants will be announced on the agency's website on July 23. Attendees of the opening ceremony will be treated to a series of celebratory performances, including an opening act by a children's performance troupe, and will have the chance to preview the exhibition before it opens to the public. The exhibition will examine the significance of liberation through the lens of modern-era cultural heritage. More than 110 artifacts will be on display, including nationally designated treasures such as a Taegeukgi, the Korean national flag, preserved at Jingwan Temple in Bukhansan, northern Seoul. Also on view will be historical documents related to independence activist Seo Young-hae, recognized as cultural heritage earlier this year.
Korea Herald
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Veterans minister nominee vows to bridge gap between liberals, conservatives
Veterans Minister nominee Kwon Oh-eul vowed Wednesday to make efforts to foster communication between liberal and conservative groups amid deep political polarization in the country. Kwon voiced the need to bridge the differences between the two sides, two days after being nominated as the first veterans minister of the Lee Jae Myung administration. "If opportunities for dialogue are created frequently, the Taegeukgi and candlelight rallies in Gwanghwamun will be able to communicate and understand each other," he told reporters, referring to the large-scale rallies led by conservative and liberal groups respectively. Kwon, a former three-term lawmaker from the conservative bloc, has stood out among Lee's picks for his Cabinet this week, considering his political background. He joined Lee's presidential campaign this year, pledging to promote centrist and conservative values within Lee's liberal Democratic Party. "I understood the meaning behind the president's nomination of me as veterans minister is to lead national unity and integration by rewarding patriotism," he said. Kwon also paid tribute to those who sacrificed their lives during the 1950-53 Korean War as the country marks the 75th anniversary of the conflict's outbreak on Wednesday. He vowed to carry out Lee's Memorial Day pledge to provide "special" compensation for those who made sacrifices for the country. (Yonhap)
Miami Herald
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
These are some of the people flying flags during Los Angeles protests, and why they do it
LOS ANGELES - Vendors were selling a variety of colorful national flags in downtown L.A. on Wednesday, but Axel Martinez settled on one with with Old Glory on one half and the Mexican flag on the other. The 26-year-old was born in the U.S., raised in Mexico City and returned to the States because of the opportunity, he said. On Wednesday, he stood among hundreds of other demonstrators outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown L.A. who were facing off with National Guard troops on Alameda Street. About a dozen other flags - from Mexico, the U.S., California, Guatemala and El Salvador - fluttered over the crowd. "Everyone has a story here," Martinez said. "I'm proud to be Mexican and to be born here." For eight days now, protesters have made their way to downtown L.A. to protest against immigration detentions in the city and the presence of the National Guard. Images of flags, mostly from Mexico, have spread in news reports and social media - at times drawing the ire of critics. Even supporters of the demonstrations have criticized the display of foreign flags, arguing they send the wrong message. Members of the Trump administration have posted images of the ensigns in social media posts, and called the protests an "invasion" or "insurrection." "Look at all the foreign flags," Stephen Miller, President Trump's deputy chief of staff posted Sunday on the social platform X, calling Los Angeles "occupied territory." Vice President JD Vance referred to protesters as "insurrectionists carrying foreign flags" on X. But when several protesters were asked why they wave a foreign flag instead of the U.S.' red white and blue, many provided a similar answer. "Why not?" Martinez said. Near 1st and Alameda streets on Monday, 46-year-old Christopher Kim draped a South Korean flag over his back like a cape. It was the first time he decided to participate in the protests, and he didn't think twice when he grabbed the Taegeukgi. "I was seeing all these flags flying out there, but there's not just Korean, Mexican, Guatemalan people here," he said. "There's people from all over the world, living here in L.A., and we have a community here." For him, bringing the flag was a tribute to his immigrant parents, who came to the U.S. and worked for their children to have better lives, he said. "They're not out here, but this represents my roots," he said. "This flag is my home, it's my family." Asked whether flying the banner of another country during a protest should be deemed offensive or counterproductive, Kim scoffed and shook his head. "This country is made out of immigrants," he said. "How could this be offensive to anyone?" Early in the week, a 21-year-old woman who identified herself only as Jade bought a Mexican flag and joined a rowdy crowd of protesters on Alameda Street. "These are our people," she told a reporter Monday. Both she and her parents were born in the U.S., but her grandparents immigrated from Mexico. Carrying the red, white and green flag was a nod to them and their sacrifices, she said. "I came from a family of immigrants, and I'm here for them," she said. "This is my country. This is my family." Farther down the street, Ariel Miller moved away from the police line, hoping to avoid the rubber bullets being fired by officers trying to disperse the crowd. She looked back toward the police line and waved the blue and white flag of El Salvador. She's not Latin American, she said, but she was waving the flag for a close friend who couldn't go to the protests. "I got this for her because I wanted her to know that, she couldn't be here, and I love her, and I'm here for her," she said. "She has family that this is a really scary time for." In the sea of people marching and chanting, the emblems of Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador and other countries were markers of the makeup of the community, she said. The flags are like hallmarks of the history that brought them to the same place to protest the treatment of new immigrants and Immigration and Customs Enforcement's presence in Los Angeles. The flags "say, you can't erase me, and I matter," she said. "You can have pride in who you are, and where you came from." Miller wasn't the only demonstrator this week to carry a flag for someone else. Najee Gow, who is Black and grew up in Minnesota, arrived downtown Wednesday with a Mexican flag on his back and led the crowd in chants with a megaphone outside the Metropolitan Detention Center. His fiancee is from El Salvador, he explained, but the men who were selling flags had run out of the blue and white flags. He opted for the familiar red, white and green tricolor. "It's affected me personally," he said of the recent immigration raids. Like other immigrants, he said, his fiancee is afraid. He's heard critics who say foreign flags should not be carried in protests, but he shrugs it off. "That's like saying, 'Don't wave your heritage, your history,'" he said. In protests where demonstrators are trying to stress the important contributions of immigrants and diversity, the assortment of national banners helps to underscore that message, he said. And that includes the Stars and Stripes. "It's beautiful and, look, most of the [U.S.] flags are upside down," he said, looking into the crowd. "It should be every flag." In front of the Metropolitan Detention Center, where protesters have gathered for several days near a line of National Guard troops, one flag vendor was selling a variety for $10 a piece. On Wednesday, he said he ran out of flags of Guatemala and El Salvador fast. Before he goes home, he'll probably give out the rest of the flags free to protesters, he said. It was his third day at the protests, and he said he'd just bring in a new batch the next day. He declined to give his name, but said he was selling flags not just to earn a few extra dollars for his family but to support protesters. When a demonstrator in a face mask tapped his pants' pockets and signaled he didn't have the cash for the flag, the vendor handed him a Mexico flag anyway. "I got family that got deported too," he said. "They got picked up when all this started." Despite the images displayed by critics, there have been U.S. flags flown during the protests as well. Javiera Burton, a 25-year-old from Chile, carried a U.S. flag Wednesday. "We are living in the U.S., and this is the flag," she said, but she added that she had no qualms about foreign flags being flown in the protest. "I think people should do what they want to do." At one point during the protest Wednesday, she said, a supporter of President Donald Trump's immigration policies approached her and assumed that, because she was flying an American flag, she too supported the immigration crackdown that has occurred in the last few days. So, she said, she detached the U.S. flag from its pole and hung it upside down - a symbol of distress. "We're fighting for this country, fighting for our people," she said. For some of those carrying foreign flags, the intent was to connect a disparate community of demonstrators, they said. "The flag I carry is not my flag. It is our flag," said Kim, who carried a South Korean flag. "It represents an entire people, struggling to survive with dreams and hopes that are common to every human." When he saw flags from Latin America in newscasts of the protests, he said, they seemed like an invitation for him to join in. "Everyone out there holds their [flag] because of what it represents: we the people of Los Angeles," he said. Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
These are some of the people flying flags during Los Angeles protests, and why they do it
Vendors were selling a variety of colorful national flags in downtown L.A. on Wednesday, but Axel Martinez settled on one with with Old Glory on one half and the Mexican flag on the other. The 26-year-old was born in the U.S., raised in Mexico City and returned to the States because of the opportunity, he said. On Wednesday, he stood among hundreds of other demonstrators outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown L.A. who were facing off with National Guard troops on Alameda Street. About a dozen other flags — from Mexico, the U.S., California, Guatemala and El Salvador — fluttered over the crowd. "Everyone has a story here," Martinez said. "I'm proud to be Mexican and to be born here." For eight days now, protesters have made their way to downtown L.A. to protest against immigration detentions in the city and the presence of the National Guard. Images of flags, mostly from Mexico, have spread in news reports and social media — at times drawing the ire of critics. Even supporters of the demonstrations have criticized the display of foreign flags, arguing they send the wrong message. Members of the Trump administration have posted images of the ensigns in social media posts, and called the protests an "invasion" or "insurrection." "Look at all the foreign flags," Stephen Miller, President Trump's deputy chief of staff posted Sunday on the social platform X, calling Los Angeles "occupied territory." Vice President JD Vance referred to protesters as "insurrectionists carrying foreign flags" on X. But when several protesters were asked why they wave a foreign flag instead of the U.S.' red white and blue, many provided a similar answer. "Why not?" Martinez said. Near 1st and Alameda streets on Monday, 46-year-old Christopher Kim draped a South Korean flag over his back like a cape. It was the first time he decided to participate in the protests, and he didn't think twice when he grabbed the Taegeukgi. "I was seeing all these flags flying out there, but there's not just Korean, Mexican, Guatemalan people here," he said. "There's people from all over the world, living here in L.A., and we have a community here." For him, bringing the flag was a tribute to his immigrant parents, who came to the U.S. and worked for their children to have better lives, he said. "They're not out here, but this represents my roots," he said. "This flag is my home, it's my family." Asked whether flying the banner of another country during a protest should be deemed offensive or counterproductive, Kim scoffed and shook his head. "This country is made out of immigrants," he said. "How could this be offensive to anyone?" Early in the week, a 21-year-old woman who identified herself only as Jade bought a Mexican flag and joined a rowdy crowd of protesters on Alameda Street. "These are our people," she told a reporter Monday. Both she and her parents were born in the U.S., but her grandparents immigrated from Mexico. Carrying the red, white and green flag was a nod to them and their sacrifices, she said. "I came from a family of immigrants, and I'm here for them," she said. "This is my country. This is my family." Farther down the street, Ariel Miller moved away from the police line, hoping to avoid the rubber bullets being fired by officers trying to disperse the crowd. She looked back toward the police line and waved the blue and white flag of El Salvador. She's not Latin American, she said, but she was waving the flag for a close friend who couldn't go to the protests. "I got this for her because I wanted her to know that, she couldn't be here, and I love her, and I'm here for her," she said. "She has family that this is a really scary time for." In the sea of people marching and chanting, the emblems of Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador and other countries were markers of the makeup of the community, she said. The flags are like hallmarks of the history that brought them to the same place to protest the treatment of new immigrants and Immigration and Customs Enforcement's presence in Los Angeles. The flags "say, you can't erase me, and I matter," she said. "You can have pride in who you are, and where you came from." Miller wasn't the only demonstrator this week to carry a flag for someone else. Najee Gow, who is Black and grew up in Minnesota, arrived downtown Wednesday with a Mexican flag on his back and led the crowd in chants with a megaphone outside the Metropolitan Detention Center. His fiancee is from El Salvador, he explained, but the men who were selling flags had run out of the blue and white flags. He opted for the familiar red, white and green tricolor. "It's affected me personally," he said of the recent immigration raids. Like other immigrants, he said, his fiancee is afraid. He's heard critics who say foreign flags should not be carried in protests, but he shrugs it off. "That's like saying, 'Don't wave your heritage, your history,'" he said. In protests where demonstrators are trying to stress the important contributions of immigrants and diversity, the assortment of national banners helps to underscore that message, he said. And that includes the Stars and Stripes. "It's beautiful and, look, most of the [U.S.] flags are upside down," he said, looking into the crowd. "It should be every flag." In front of the Metropolitan Detention Center, where protesters have gathered for several days near a line of National Guard troops, one flag vendor was selling a variety for $10 a piece. On Wednesday, he said he ran out of flags of Guatemala and El Salvador fast. Before he goes home, he'll probably give out the rest of the flags free to protesters, he said. It was his third day at the protests, and he said he'd just bring in a new batch the next day. He declined to give his name, but said he was selling flags not just to earn a few extra dollars for his family but to support protesters. When a demonstrator in a face mask tapped his pants' pockets and signaled he didn't have the cash for the flag, the vendor handed him a Mexico flag anyway. "I got family that got deported too," he said. "They got picked up when all this started." Despite the images displayed by critics, there have been U.S. flags flown during the protests as well. Javiera Burton, a 25-year-old from Chile, carried a U.S. flag Wednesday. "We are living in the U.S., and this is the flag," she said, but she added that she had no qualms about foreign flags being flown in the protest. "I think people should do what they want to do." At one point during the protest Wednesday, she said, a supporter of President Trump's immigration policies approached her and assumed that, because she was flying an American flag, she too supported the immigration crackdown that has occurred in the last few days. So, she said, she detached the U.S. flag from its pole and hung it upside down — a symbol of distress. "We're fighting for this country, fighting for our people," she said. For some of those carrying foreign flags, the intent was to connect a disparate community of demonstrators, they said. "The flag I carry is not my flag. It is our flag," said Kim, who carried a South Korean flag. "It represents an entire people, struggling to survive with dreams and hopes that are common to every human." When he saw flags from Latin America in newscasts of the protests, he said, they seemed like an invitation for him to join in. "Everyone out there holds their [flag] because of what it represents: we the people of Los Angeles," he said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
