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.

The captured Sujagi aboard USS Colorado June 1871. Shown with it are United States Marines (from left to right) Corporal Charles Brown, Private Hugh Purvis, and Captain McLane Tilton.

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

  1. ↑ http://www.donga.com/fbin/output?n=200710230149
  2. ↑ http://museum.kma.ac.kr/museum/image/ama/ama081002.jpg
  3. ↑ Carolyn A. Tyson (1 January 1966). Marine Amphibious Landing in Korea, 1871. Naval Historical Foundation. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  4. ↑ Chung Ah-young (22 October 2007). "General's Flag Returns Home From US". Korea Times. Retrieved 27 January 2015.
  5. ↑ Bradley Olson (11 October 2007). "Korean flag to be returned on loan basis". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 27 January 2015.

See also

Sujagi Flag Return

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