· Slangdunk Editors
What does 태극기부대 (taegukgi budae) mean? How flag-waving protesters got called a ‘battalion’
태극기부대 (taegukgi budae, “Taegukgi battalion”) is an informal label for the flag-carrying protesters who rallied against President Park Geun-hye's impeachment in late 2016. Who uses it, and who hears it, matters a lot.
At a glance
- Meaning
- An informal label for people who rally with the Korean flag at conservative protests. It's a name given by the press and the public, not an organization.
- Origin
- It dates to winter 2016, when opponents of President Park Geun-hye's impeachment took up the national flag against the candlelight protests (Yeongnam Ilbo). Who first used it is unconfirmed.
- Tone
- Critics use it to mean “far right”; the people it describes call it a smear. Many hear it as dismissive.
- Now
- At the 2025 rallies against President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment, young people and teens were far more visible than in 2016, when the crowds were mostly older (Newsis).
Anyone who walked through Gwanghwamun on a weekend back then remembers it: candles on one side, flags on the other. Both sides held the same flag, but only one side got called a “battalion.” Today we follow that name, date by date, and look at who says it and how it lands.
Ten years of 태극기부대, step by step
Winter 2016
Flags across from the candles
People opposed to President Park Geun-hye's impeachment took to the streets with the Korean flag to counter the candlelight protests. A Yeongnam Ilbo column by Song Kook-gun names this as the starting point of the 태극기부대.
April 2017
Labeled as people in their 50s to 70s
Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that most participants in the pro-Park “Taegukgi rallies” were in their 50s to 70s, while citing a Korea Democracy Research Institute report arguing that calling it a generational conflict was too simple.
October 2018
“Why keep calling them that?”
Jeon Won-chaek, then on a Liberty Korea Party organizing committee, told KBS radio they were “people worried about the country” and said splitting them off as far right from a “healthy” conservative mainstream was a distortion (Edaily).
February 2019
A call for a different name
Historian Jeon Woo-yong argued the flag in the name made them look like patriotism personified, and suggested “far-right anti-government protesters” instead (Goodmorning Chungcheong). The same month, a Yeongnam Ilbo column noted they had joined the party en masse and begun shaping mainstream conservatism.
March 2025
Young people move to the front
Newsis reported that while the 2016 “Taegukgi battalion” was mostly older people, some young adults and teenagers were now organizing the rallies against President Yoon Suk Yeol's impeachment.
What does 태극기부대 (taegukgi budae) mean?
태극기부대
An informal label for people who rally with the Korean national flag at conservative protests. It was coined during the 2016–17 rallies against President Park Geun-hye's impeachment and is often heard as dismissive.
In Korean: 태극기를 들고 보수 성향 집회에 나서는 참가자들을 묶어 부르는 비공식 표현. 2016년 말 박근혜 전 대통령 탄핵 반대 집회에서 생겼고, 듣는 사람에 따라 낮잡는 말로 받아들여진다.
The weight sits on 부대, “battalion” or “unit.” The Yeongnam Ilbo column argues that this military-sounding name is why the group came to be seen as “far right” and as unconditional Park supporters. Critics use the word for exactly that edge; the people it describes dislike it for the same reason. Just as words like 개딸 (gaettal) and 대깨문 (daekkaemun) get pinned on supporters of the other camp, nicknames for political camps usually say more about whoever coins them.
- 주말마다 광화문에 태극기부대가 나온다더라Apparently the 태극기부대 turns out at Gwanghwamun every weekend.Talking over the news
- 태극기 들었다고 다 태극기부대는 아니지Holding a flag doesn't make you 태극기부대.Someone who hung a flag on Independence Movement Day
- 우리를 태극기부대라고 부르는 건 낙인찍기다Calling us 태극기부대 is a smear.The protesters' side of the argument
- 이번 집회는 예전 태극기부대랑 달리 20대가 많았다Unlike the old 태극기부대, this rally had lots of people in their 20s.The angle of 2025 rally coverage
Political nicknames: how do you use them?
태극기부대 or 개딸, a political nickname is great at ending a conversation quickly. The trouble is that it ends the conversation too. Here are a few things worth checking before you sum someone up in one word.
Do I use political nicknames carefully? Tick the ones that apply
0 of 5 checked
The nickname tends to come out first. Next time, start with the name people use for themselves.
태극기부대 (taegukgi budae): frequently asked questions
Q. What does 태극기부대 mean?
An informal label for people who rally with the Korean flag at conservative protests. It arose during the late-2016 rallies against President Park Geun-hye's impeachment.
Q. Is 태극기부대 derogatory?
Many hear it that way. Critics say the military-sounding 부대 gave it a far-right ring (Yeongnam Ilbo), and people on the receiving end have pushed back against it as a smear (Edaily).
Q. Is 태극기부대 an actual organization?
No. It's a label the press and public put on protesters with similar views. Different groups have often held their own separate rallies (JTBC).
Q. Where can I see 태극기부대 memes?
Many circulate, mostly photos of real people at rallies or edits of them, so we don't reproduce any here.
Q. What's 태극기부대 in English?
English-language coverage usually says “Taegukgi rallies” or “Taegukgi protesters,” keeping the Korean name of the flag.
So: 태극기부대 is the name one camp gave to protesters carrying the flag. From the older crowds of 2016 to the younger ones of 2025, the name stayed the same while the people changed quite a bit. If you have a sharper definition, add it to the 태극기부대 entry in the dictionary. For a case where a political label overlaps with a generation, see 이대남 (idaenam).
Sources
- Yeongnam Ilbo — [송국건정치칼럼] '태극기부대'의 정체 (Feb 25, 2019, in Korean)
- Edaily — 전원책 “왜 자꾸 ‘태극기부대’라고 표현? 나라 걱정하는 분들” (Jang Gu-seul, Oct 23, 2018, in Korean)
- Goodmorning Chungcheong — 전우용 "'태극기부대'는 '극우반시'로 부르는 게 적절" (Jeong Mun-young, Feb 21, 2019, in Korean)
- Kyunghyang Shinmun — 촛불 대 태극기, 보혁이나 세대 갈등 아닌 5070세대의 분화 (Lee Yu-jin, Apr 2, 2017, in Korean)
- Newsis — "반국가 세력에 맞설 것"…10대들, 탄핵 반대 가세 이유는 (Choi Eun-su, Mar 2, 2025, in Korean)
See ‘태극기부대’ in the dictionary — more definitions, examples, and your own take.
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