---
title: "Flag of North Korea: colours and meaning"
description: "What every colour and symbol on the North Korea flag stands for, its official 1:2 ratio, and the year the current design was adopted."
url: https://atoneplace.net/flag/north-korea/
site: "At One Place"
---

# The flag of North Korea

**The flag of North Korea: A wide red band across the centre edged in white, with blue bands above and below, and a red five-pointed star inside a white disc toward the hoist.**

Ratio 1:2 · current design adopted 1948

North and South Korea used the same Taegukgi until 1948, when the North replaced it with this design — the two flags are among the very few pairs where a shared symbol was deliberately abandoned by one side. The star is set toward the hoist rather than centred. Both Koreas competed at several international events under a unification flag showing a blue Korean peninsula on white, most recently in 2018. This entry describes the flag and does not address political questions.

## What the colours mean

*Flag laws usually specify a Pantone chip, a CMYK mix or just a colour name. Converting any of those to sRGB is lossy, which is why published hex values disagree.*

- **Red** (#ED1C27) — Revolutionary tradition
- **White** (#FFFFFF) — Purity, and a traditional Korean colour
- **Blue** (#024FA2) — Sovereignty, peace and friendship

## The symbols on it

| What | What it stands for |
| --- | --- |
| Red star in a white disc | Revolution |

- **Ratio:** 1:2
- **Current design adopted:** 1948
- **Colours:** red, white, blue

## Common questions

### What does the flag of North Korea look like?

A wide red band across the centre edged in white, with blue bands above and below, and a red five-pointed star inside a white disc toward the hoist.

### What do the colours of the North Korea flag mean?

Red: revolutionary tradition. White: purity, and a traditional Korean colour. Blue: sovereignty, peace and friendship.

### When was the North Korea flag adopted?

The current design dates from 1948, and its official ratio is 1:2.

## Related pages

- [North Korea](https://atoneplace.net/country/north-korea/)
- [Every flag with red in it](https://atoneplace.net/flag/colour/red/)
- [The flag of United States](https://atoneplace.net/flag/united-states/)
- [The flag of United Kingdom](https://atoneplace.net/flag/united-kingdom/)
- [The flag of Canada](https://atoneplace.net/flag/canada/)
- [The flag of France](https://atoneplace.net/flag/france/)
- [The flag of China](https://atoneplace.net/flag/china/)
- [The flag of Germany](https://atoneplace.net/flag/germany/)
- [The flag of Russia](https://atoneplace.net/flag/russia/)
- [The flag of Italy](https://atoneplace.net/flag/italy/)

## Sources

- Wikidata — Wikimedia Foundation (https://www.wikidata.org/) [CC0 1.0]