Flag of North Chungcheong

The flag of North Chungcheong (Chungbuk) is that of a province in the centre of the Korean peninsula. The current one, from October 2023, is white and its symbol does not represent anything: it is the first two consonants of the name of the province drawn in purple and blue-green.

How it came about

On 6 October 2023 the province unveiled an emblem and a flag as part of a renewal of its brand. The logo is built on the letters ㅊ and ㅂ, the initials of «충북» (Chungbuk): the purple ㅊ above and the blue-green ㅂ below form an almost symmetrical figure with arrows pointing up and down. For the province, that arrow-shaped gap sums up its long-standing motto: going from “the centre of Korea” to “the centre of the world”.

How it has changed

Chungbuk has had three flags, in 1969, 1999 and 2023.

1. 

   1969-1999

   First flag: a purple field with a gold emblem combining the Chinese characters 忠 (loyalty) and 北 (north), the two syllables of the name of the province. The gold evoked peace, prosperity and conviction.

2. 

   1999-2023

   White, with the name in black and a symbol painted in brushstrokes: a red sun, green mountains and a stretch of blue water. A tribute to the old nickname of the province, “land of clean wind and bright moon”.

3. 

   2023

   The initials of the name replace the whole landscape. The name, in dark blue, goes below the symbol.

What it means

The official explanation of the 2023 symbol is this:

• Purple ㅊ

  the drive to leap towards the sky; also growth, orientation towards the future and inclusion.

• Blue-green ㅂ

  the lakes of the province, the environmental side and the healthy life of its neighbours.

• The arrow between the two letters

  Chungbuk flying from the centre of Korea to the centre of the world.

• Its eleven strokes

  the eleven municipalities of the province, distinct but balanced.

Fun facts

1. Thirty years of a purple flag

   From 1969 to 1999 Chungbuk did not carry the symbol on a white ground, but an entirely purple field: according to the province, the colour of its “great mountains and rivers”.

2. A logo you can count

   The 2023 emblem has exactly eleven strokes, and the province officially explains that each one is one of its eleven municipalities.

Location