Mapo-gu is launching a "Love Your Country — Fly the Taegeukgi" campaign to mark the 81st Liberation Day and encourage residents to reflect on the meaning of national independence.
The district aims to spread a flag-flying culture from public facilities and major roads to individual homes, so residents can honor Liberation Day through small, everyday acts.
From Friday through Saturday, 2,070 Taegeukgi flags will be displayed along 26 sections of major roads totaling 41.2 kilometers across the district, creating a sea of flags throughout Mapo-gu.
Alongside this, the district will inspect flags at government buildings and parks for soiling or damage, and patrol major roadsides to check street banners and flag fixtures for any irregularities.
The district will also run a public awareness campaign to boost resident participation. Guidance on flying the Taegeukgi will be shared through apartment building announcements, elevator notices, bulletin boards, the district website and SNS, with local civic groups — including neighborhood council associations and resident self-governance committees — helping to encourage turnout.
Flags should be displayed Saturday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Under the National Flag Act, flags may also be flown 24 hours a day in the days surrounding Liberation Day.
At home, residents should hang the flag at the center or left side of the front gate of a detached house, or on the balcony railing of an apartment building, as seen from outside.
Residents who need a flag can purchase one at their nearest community service center — a standard flag costs 5,000 won and a premium flag costs 10,000 won. Worn or damaged flags can be deposited in flag collection boxes at each community service center.
A flag distribution event marking the 81st Liberation Day will also be held Thursday at 7:30 a.m. in front of Exit 8 of Hapjeong Station.
Organized by the Mapo-gu Saemaul Association of Seoul, the event will see about 30 saemaul leaders and association officials hand out 400 vehicle flags and 100 household flags to commuters and drivers.
Later that morning at 11 a.m., a ceremony honoring families of independence merit holders will be held at K-Turtle Convention Hall A to mark the 81st anniversary of Liberation.
Co-hosted by the Korean Liberation Association's Mapo-gu chapter and the Mapo-gu Patriots and Veterans Affairs Hall, and sponsored by the Seoul Mapo-gu chapter of the National Unification Advisory Council and Lakai Korea Co., the event will be attended by about 100 people, including families of independence merit holders from Mapo-gu.
"Flying the Taegeukgi is a meaningful act of remembering the patriots who devoted themselves to winning our liberation and expressing our love for the country," said Yoo Dong-gyun, the Mapo-gu district mayor. "I hope residents across Mapo-gu will join in so that the district is filled with a wave of Taegeukgi flags on this 81st Liberation Day."
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