Seal of South Korea

National seal of South Korea
National Seal of the Republic of Korea
대한민국의 국새
Armiger South Korea
Adopted25 October 2011; 12 years ago (2011-10-25)
Motto대한민국
(Republic of Korea)

The National Seal of the Republic of Korea (Korean: 대한민국의 국새; RR: Daehanmingugui guksae; MR: Taehanmin'gugŭi kuksae) is a governmental seal used for purposes of state in South Korea.[1][2] The seal is carved with characters called injang.[1]

Since the late 20th century, the seal's design consists of South Korea's official name written in hangeul inside of a square; during the mid-20th century Chinese characters in Seal Script were used.

History

Following the establishment of the South Korean state in August 1948, its government adopted on 5 May 1949 a new state seal, or guksae (Korean: 국새). It is used in promulgation of constitutions, designation of cabinet members and ambassadors, conference of national orders and important diplomatic documents.[3][4]

The seal's design has been modified multiple times over the years. The first version of the seal, used until the early 1960s, used Hanja characters 大韓民國之璽[a], it was made of silver, and topped by a sapsali for knob.[3][5] Later, the lettering was changed to use only Hangeul characters, and the knob was redesigned as turtle. The third seal the knob was designed as two phoenixes and a hibiscus syriacus, and made of gold. The fourth seal featured phoenix only for knob. The fifth seal again featured two phoenixes and a hibiscus syriacus at the top.[3][6][7]

The current seal is the fifth version and was designed in September 2011, being adopted in October 2011.[3]

  • First national seal (1949–1962)
    First national seal (1949–1962)
  • Second national seal (1963–1999)
    Second national seal (1963–1999)
  • Third national seal (1999–2008, 2010–2011)
    Third national seal (1999–2008, 2010–2011)
  • Fourth national seal (2008–2010)
    Fourth national seal (2008–2010)
  • Fifth national seal (since 2011)
    Fifth national seal (since 2011)
  • Seal knob of the first national seal
    Seal knob of the first national seal
  • Seal knob of the second national seal
    Seal knob of the second national seal
  • Seal knob of the third national seal
    Seal knob of the third national seal
  • Seal knob of the fourth national seal
    Seal knob of the fourth national seal
  • Seal knob of the fifth national seal
    Seal knob of the fifth national seal

See also

  • Heraldry portal
  • flagSouth Korea portal

Notes

  1. ^ Korean: 대한민국지새; RR: Daehanmingukjisae

References

  1. ^ a b Cheon, Jingi (Summer 2008). "Guksae (State Seal) Consummate Work of Korea's Master Craftsmen" (PDF). Koreana. 22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 July 2011.
  2. ^ "Pembuatan Segel Nasional Korea Selatan yang baru" [The Making of a new South Korea National Seal] (in Indonesian). KBS World (Indonesian TV channel). 14 February 2006. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
  3. ^ a b c d National Symbols of the Republic of Korea: Uniting People and Elevating National Pride. Seoul: Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Korea. 2017. pp. 12–13. Archived from the original on 2017-08-06. Retrieved 6 August 2017.
  4. ^ "국가상징" (in Korean). Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Korea. Retrieved 2024-08-02.
  5. ^ "사라진 대한민국 첫 국새 찾아라" (in Korean). Presidential Archives. 2005-10-28. Retrieved 2024-07-28.
  6. ^ "3대 국새 둘러보기" (in Korean). National Archives of Korea. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
  7. ^ "'대한민국 국새' 경남 산청서 시험 날인" (in Korean). KBS. 2007-12-03. Retrieved 2024-08-08.