Sujagi
Sujagi | |
![]() Sujagi captured in 1871 | |
Korean name | |
---|---|
Hangul | 수자기 |
Hanja | 帥字旗 |
Revised Romanization | Sujagi |
McCune–Reischauer | Sujagi |
The Sujagi is a flag with a Hanja (Chinese ideogram) 帥, pronounced su in Korean, that denotes a commanding general. The whole term literally means, "Commanding general flag". Only one sujagi is known to exist in Korea. The color is a faded yellowish-brown background with a black character in its center. It is made of hemp cloth and measures approximately 4.15m x 4.35m.[1]
History
This type of flag was put in a fortress where a commanding general was located.[2] In the case of the extant sujagi in Korea, it represented General Eo Jae-yeon who, in 1871, commanded the Korean military forces on Ganghwa Island, which is off the northwest coast of present-day South Korea, nearby the capital of Seoul. It was captured by the United States Asiatic Squadron in June of that year during the United States' expedition to Korea.[3] As with other war prizes, it was put into the collection of the museum at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.
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In October 2007, after many years of petitioning the United States government, the flag was returned to Korea on a long-term, ten-year loan. It is currently housed at the National Palace Museum of Korea in Seoul.[4] [5]
Notes
- ↑ http://www.donga.com/fbin/output?n=200710230149
- ↑ http://museum.kma.ac.kr/museum/image/ama/ama081002.jpg
- ↑ Carolyn A. Tyson (1 January 1966). Marine Amphibious Landing in Korea, 1871. Naval Historical Foundation. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
- ↑ Chung Ah-young (22 October 2007). "General's Flag Returns Home From US". Korea Times. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
- ↑ Bradley Olson (11 October 2007). "Korean flag to be returned on loan basis". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 27 January 2015.