"TOMS Shoe Patches Feature Incorrect Taegukgi... Seo Kyoung-Duk Says 'This Is Not a New Issue'"

Patches Shaped Like National Flags Sold on TOMS Website

Taegukgi Errors Continue with New Balance and Superdry

Seo Kyoung-Duk: "We Need Proactive Promotion of the Taegukgi"

There have been claims that the American shoe brand TOMS is selling shoe patches that depict the four trigrams of the Taegukgi, the national flag of South Korea, incorrectly.

American footwear brand TOMS is selling shoe patches that incorrectly depict the four trigrams of the South Korean flag. Photo by Seokyoungdeok Facebook

Professor Seo Kyoung-Duk of Sungshin Women’s University stated on September 11 via his Facebook page, “I found out through a tip from a netizen and, upon checking, discovered that the global shoe manufacturer TOMS was selling patches with an incorrect version of the Taegukgi.”

TOMS offers shoe patches inspired by the flags of various countries on its website. Professor Seo pointed out that the patch representing the Taegukgi “features all four trigrams drawn incorrectly.” The product photo he posted also shows that the arrangement of the four trigrams on the patch is different from their placement on the actual Taegukgi.

"Sending protest emails isn’t enough… We need proactive promotion"

Professor Seo said, “This isn’t a new issue,” and explained that “incorrect Taegukgi designs have continued to appear in various global brand products such as T-shirts and accessories.” He first criticized that “the main responsibility lies with the companies involved. Problems like these arise because they use designs of national symbols like the flag without proper verification.” He went on to state that “these issues occur because companies selling design sources for various national flags are also selling incorrect flag designs.”

He emphasized, “At this point, it doesn’t seem sufficient to merely send protest emails to such companies. We need to take a more active role in promoting correct Taegukgi designs so that these symbols are used properly worldwide.” He added, “Promoting the nation begins with properly informing people about national symbols.”

Errors range from global brands to local markets

Back in July, New Balance faced criticism for selling the “UNI NB Geongon-Gamri Exclusive Short Sleeve T-shirt,” which featured a taeguk symbol that appeared upside down, along with trigrams arranged incorrectly. New Balance responded by halting both online and offline sales and offering refunds. In an official statement, the company apologized: “We recognize the gravity of disappointing and concerning many due to our careless handling of symbols that represent a country.”

Another error occurred last October with the global apparel brand Superdry’s “Seoul Haetae Graphic T-shirt." The placement and form of the trigrams on the back of this shirt differed from those on the actual Taegukgi.

Such cases have also been reported in South Korea itself. Last month, Professor Seo noted that an accessory for slippers featuring the taeguk symbol with swapped colors was being sold at a well-known traditional market. He also pointed out that many event posters for Liberation Day, shared via social media, depicted the Taegukgi with incorrect trigram arrangements. He commented, “It is inexcusable for products featuring the Taegukgi, a symbol of South Korea, to be poorly designed and sold domestically, not just abroad.”

According to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on the National Flag of the Republic of Korea, the Taegukgi’s four trigrams should be arranged as follows: Geon (☰) in the upper left, Gon (☷) in the lower right, Gam (☵) in the upper right, and Ri (☲) in the lower left. Geon symbolizes heaven, Gon represents earth, Gam means water, and Ri denotes fire.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.