Original Item: Only One Available. This is a heavily worn original North Korean national flag dating to the Korean War era, measuring approximately 20 ½ x 37 inches. The flag was very likely captured and brought home during the Korean War of 1950-1953. The flag appears to be made from rayon or a similar early synthetic fabric and shows extensive fading, staining, color bleed, and wear consistent with prolonged use and age.

This example measures roughly 20 ½ x 37”, and was “captured” and brought back during the Korean war, which lasted Jun 25, 1950 –Jul 27, 1953. It looks to be made of Rayon cloth, an early partial synthetic cloth made from wood. The colors are retained but they do show heavy bleed, this is a flag that saw many years of service as it is heavily faded. It does not have a header, but there are tie strings at one corner, and there may have been strings at another corner at one point, though if there were, they were torn away long ago. The tie strings retained at one corner are very weak and close to coming off. There is some heavy staining but overall this is a fantastic captured example.

The flag follows the standard design of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, with a broad central red panel bordered above and below by narrow white stripes and wider blue stripes. Near the hoist is a five-pointed red star within a white circle. This same basic design is formally described in the DPRK constitution, which specifies the red center panel, white and blue bordering stripes, and red star within a white circle near the hoist.

The North Korean flag's prominent motif is a red star, which is a universal symbol of communism and socialism, although since the flag's adoption the application of the Marxist-Leninist-natured philosophy of Juche has replaced communist authority as the state's guiding ideology, and references to communism have been systematically removed from the country's constitution and legal documents. However, the constitution is still stated to be socialist in nature. Despite the many changes to the constitution, the description of the flag has always remained the same.

The website of the Korean Friendship Association indicates that, on the contrary, the red star represents revolutionary traditions and the red panel is indicative of the patriotism and determination of the Korean people. The white stripes symbolize the unity of the Korean nation and its culture. The blue stripes represent the desire to fight for independence, peace, friendship, and international unity.

According to a typical North Korean official text published in Rodong Sinmun, Kim Il-sung gave the following significance to the flag's elements:

The red of the flag symbolizes anti-Japanese sentiment, and is the color of blood shed by the Korean patriots and the invincible might of our people firmly united to support the Republic. The white symbolizes one bloodline, one land, one language, one culture of our monoethnic country, which lived in purity. And blue stands for the gallant visage of our people and symbolizes the spirit of the Korean people fighting for world peace and progress.

This example is particularly noteworthy for the combination of its Korean War-era North Korean design, approximately 20 ½ x 37-inch size, rayon-like construction, surviving corner ties, and heavily worn condition. It will look fantastic framed in any U.S. Korean War collection.