Aha! You refer of course to the “red five-pointed star flag” (紅藍五角—旗) of the DPRK. Try as I might to live without them, I have got to have my hanja. It’s a weakness, particularly when dealing with North Korean sources that are increasingly independent of Chinese vocabulary.
I think we are more likely to see the DPRK flag flying on Los Angeles’ Wilshire Boulevard first, are we not? I don’t think the ROK consulate there would have any problem at all with it. In fact it might even be argued by rollbackers that we need diplomatic relations right away with DPRK to facilitate the settling of North Korean refugees in California in particular!
Back to the language thing for a moment, an interesting little commentary in and of itself: My rather communist-oriented Korean-Chinese dictionary, which I purchased in Yanbian and was published by Minzu Chubanshe in 2002, does not contain this phrase! How strong can that Chinese-North Korean brotherhood reach if a simple aspect of NK nationalism cannot be broached in a standard dictionary? Little things like this make me wonder how long it’s all going to last. Maybe until North Korea runs out of copper.
Sorry to be a nag, but I thought a more accurate translation would be 紅藍五角星旗 as 별 means “star”. I am not surprised though that any dictionary published outside the DPRK wouldn’t contain such a phrase as it is rarely known to the outsiders, I’d argue. Most people would just refer to it as “the flag or the DPRK”.
Adam Cathcart 
Great pictures Adam. Glad to see both 五星紅旗 and 青天白日滿地紅, just beautiful! Now, when will we see 홍람오각별기 flying above San Francisco?
Venerable sir,
Aha! You refer of course to the “red five-pointed star flag” (紅藍五角—旗) of the DPRK. Try as I might to live without them, I have got to have my hanja. It’s a weakness, particularly when dealing with North Korean sources that are increasingly independent of Chinese vocabulary.
I think we are more likely to see the DPRK flag flying on Los Angeles’ Wilshire Boulevard first, are we not? I don’t think the ROK consulate there would have any problem at all with it. In fact it might even be argued by rollbackers that we need diplomatic relations right away with DPRK to facilitate the settling of North Korean refugees in California in particular!
Back to the language thing for a moment, an interesting little commentary in and of itself: My rather communist-oriented Korean-Chinese dictionary, which I purchased in Yanbian and was published by Minzu Chubanshe in 2002, does not contain this phrase! How strong can that Chinese-North Korean brotherhood reach if a simple aspect of NK nationalism cannot be broached in a standard dictionary? Little things like this make me wonder how long it’s all going to last. Maybe until North Korea runs out of copper.
Adam,
Sorry to be a nag, but I thought a more accurate translation would be 紅藍五角星旗 as 별 means “star”. I am not surprised though that any dictionary published outside the DPRK wouldn’t contain such a phrase as it is rarely known to the outsiders, I’d argue. Most people would just refer to it as “the flag or the DPRK”.