Sujagi
{{Short description|Historical Korean military flag}}
{{Infobox Korean name
|img=File:Sujagi (1871).jpg
|caption=Sujagi captured in 1871
|hangul=수자기
|hanja=帥字旗
|rr=Sujagi
|mr=Sujagi
|context=old
}}
The Sujagi is a flag with the hanja {{lang|ko|帥}}, pronounced {{transliteration|ko|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.{{cite web|url=http://news.donga.com/3/all/20071023/8503354/1|title=신미양요 때 빼앗긴 어재연 장군기 '10년 장기대여' 귀환 : 뉴스|date=23 October 2007|publisher=|accessdate=1 May 2017}}
File:Sujagi.jpg. In the foreground are United States Marines (from left to right) Corporal Charles Brown, Private Hugh Purvis, and Captain McLane Tilton.|330x330px]]
File:1871sujagi.jpg, U.S. Marine Private Hugh Purvis, and the sailor on the left is believed to be Cyrus Hayden (U.S. Navy). All three were awarded the Medal of Honor.]]
History
This type of flag was put in a fortress where a commanding general was located.{{Cite web |url=http://museum.kma.ac.kr/museum/image/ama/ama081002.jpg |title=Archived copy |access-date=2009-02-12 |archive-date=2011-07-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719031511/http://museum.kma.ac.kr/museum/image/ama/ama081002.jpg |url-status=dead }} 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, near 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.{{cite book|title=Marine Amphibious Landing in Korea, 1871|url=http://www.navyhistory.org/marine-amphibious-landing-in-korea-1871/|date=1 January 1966|publisher=Naval Historical Foundation|author=Carolyn A. Tyson|accessdate=27 January 2015}} As with other war prizes, it was put into the collection of the museum at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.{{cite news |last1=Hwang |first1=Jurie |title=American campaigns for flag's return |url=http://www.koreaherald.com/common/newsprint.php?ud=20100907000799 |access-date=29 September 2022 |publisher=The Korea Herald |date=29 October 2010}}
In October 2007, after many years of petitions by South Korea to the United States government, the flag was returned to South Korea on a long-term, ten-year loan.{{cite news|last1=Chung Ah-young|title=General's Flag Returns Home From US|url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2007/10/148_12340.html|access-date=27 January 2015|publisher=The Korea Times|date=22 October 2007}}{{cite web|url=http://www.shinmiyangyo.org/SMYYfront/history/balt_sun_2007.html|title=Korean flag to be returned on loan basis|accessdate=27 January 2015|publisher=Baltimore Sun|author=Bradley Olson|date=11 October 2007}}
After being returned, it was displayed at the National Palace Museum of Korea in Seoul until 2009, when it was moved to the Ganghwa History Museum on Ganghwa Island.{{cite news |last1=Jung |first1=Jia H. |title=Repatriated flag runs out of time in Korea |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2022/09/177_336808.html |access-date=29 September 2022 |publisher=The Korea Times |date=27 September 2022}} As of September 2022, the lease had been renewed for the flag to stay in South Korea until at least October 2023.{{cite news |last1=Kwak |first1=Yeon-soo |title=Loan period extended for US-captured Joseon-era flag |url=https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/culture/2022/09/199_337013.html |access-date=29 September 2022 |publisher=The Korea Times |date=29 September 2022}}
References
- {{cite book|title=Sinmiyangyo: The 1871 Conflict Between the United States and Korea |author=Duvernay, Thomas A.|year=2021|location=Seoul | publisher=Seoul Selection|asin=B08VR9FFL1 |pages=172–174}}
Notes
{{reflist|30em}}
See also
External links
- [http://www.shinmiyangyo.org/sujagireturn.html Sujagi Flag Return]