A Seoul city councilor has called on two major cultural facilities in the capital to improve the visibility of the Taegeukgi, saying the national flag is too small or placed out of public view.
According to the Seoul Metropolitan Council on Tuesday, Kim Hyung-jae, acting chair of the council’s culture, sports and tourism committee and a member of the main opposition People Power Party, criticized a report on improving Taegeukgi flagpoles at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts and the Seoul Museum of Craft Art during a committee meeting on June 17.
Kim has raised the issue since an administrative audit in November 2025, saying public cultural facilities such as the Sejong Center and the Seoul Museum of Craft Art have neglected the display of the national flag and failed to consider its visibility.
During the audit, Kim said the Sejong Center, despite being a landmark in Gwanghwamun, had installed a small Taegeukgi measuring 180 centimeters by 120 centimeters on the rooftop.
He compared it to the US flag that measures 450 centimeters by 300 centimeters at the nearby US Embassy, saying the contrast weakened the symbolism of Korea’s national flag in the area.
At a committee meeting in March, Kim also called on the Seoul Museum of Craft Art to improve visibility, saying even the museum’s name was difficult to identify from the main road and that the flagpole appeared to be “hidden” inside the building.
Kim criticized the two institutions for failing to accept his calls to expand or improve the display of South Korea’s national flag.
“Under the National Flag Act and Seoul city ordinances, public facilities used by many people should do their best to promote the national flag.
Yet dragging this on for more than a year under the excuse of budget planning or reviewing the display environment just to move one flagpole is a classic case of passive administration and a lack of will,” Kim said.
“How are the people supposed to understand a reality in which the large US flag at the US Embassy dominates Gwanghwamun Square, while our own Taegeukgi is barely visible?” he added.
Kim urged the Seoul Museum of Craft Art to immediately improve signage along the main road so people can find the museum more easily, and called on the Sejong Center to reconsider the best location for the Taegeukgi so that its dignity and status as a national symbol can be properly displayed.
minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com
