The Sujagi is a flag

Flag

A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.The first flags were used to assist...

 with a Chinese character

Chinese character

Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...

, pronounced su in Korean, that denotes a commanding general. The whole term literally means, "Commanding general character 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

Hemp

Hemp is mostly used as a name for low tetrahydrocannabinol strains of the plant Cannabis sativa, of fiber and/or oilseed varieties. In modern times, hemp has been used for industrial purposes including paper, textiles, biodegradable plastics, construction, health food and fuel with modest...

 cloth and measures approximately 4.15m x 4.35m.

History

This type of flag was put in a fortress where a commanding general was located. 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

Ganghwa Island

Ganghwa Island is an island in the estuary of the Han River, on the west coast of South Korea. Ganghwa Island is separated from Gimpo, on the mainland, by a narrow channel, which is spanned by two bridges. The main channel of the Han River separates the island from Gaeseong in North Korea.About...

, which is off the northwest coast of present-day South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

, nearby the capital of Seoul

Seoul

Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

. It was captured by the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Asiatic Squadron

Asiatic Squadron

The Asiatic Squadron was a squadron of United States Navy warships stationed in East Asia during the latter half of the 19th century, it was created in 1868 when the East India Squadron was disbanded...

 in June of that year during the United States' expedition to Korea. As with other war prizes, it was put into the collection of the museum at the United States Naval Academy

United States Naval Academy

The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

 in Annapolis, Maryland

Maryland

Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...

.

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

National Palace Museum of Korea

National Palace Museum of Korea is a national museum of South Korea located in Gyeongbokgung Palace, Seoul.-History:The museum first began as the "Korean Imperial Museum", which was established on September, 1908 and was originally located in Changgyeonggung Palace. On November of the following...

in Seoul.