Pledge of Allegiance (South Korea)
The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag (Korean: 국기에 대한 맹세; Hanja: 國旗에 對한 盟誓, lit. '"Oath facing the national flag"') is the pledge to the national flag of South Korea. The pledge is recited at flag ceremonies immediately before the South Korean national anthem. HistoryThe current pledge was introduced on July 27, 2007.[1] A previous pledge of allegiance was used from 1972 until 2007 and was introduced by then-president Park Chung-hee.[2][3] Text of the pledge
ControversyUnlike the current pledge which pledges allegiance to the state of South Korea, the 1972 pledge rather pledged allegiance to the "Korean nation" or "Korean ethnicity" (translated as "Korean race" by some critics[2][3][5][6][7][8]), also known as the minjok. This version of the pledge was discontinued in July 2007, during the presidency of Roh Moo-hyun,[9] and replaced with different, non-ethnic wording. The decision was criticized by some left-wing nationalists who advocated Korean reunification of the two Koreas.[10] Similarly, until April 2011, the South Korean army's soldiers swore allegiance to the "Korean ethnicity" in their oaths of enlistment until that, too, was discontinued for similar reasons.[5] See alsoReferences
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