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The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of South Korea (Korean: 국기에 대한 맹세, Pledge of allegiance to the Korean flag) is the pledge to the national flag of South Korea. The pledge is recited at flag ceremonies immediately before the national anthem.
History
The current pledge was introduced on July 27, 2007. A previous pledge of allegiance was used from 1972 until 2007, introduced by then-president Park Chung-hee. Unlike the current pledge which pledges allegiance of the country of South Korea, the 1972 pledge rather pledged allegiance to the "Korean race", also known as the "minjok".
In the mid-2000s, the pledging of allegiance to a "Korean race" was criticized by some South Koreans as being racist and "not appropriate at a time when South Korea is become a multi-racial society." This version of the pledge was discontinued in July 2007. Similarly, until April 2011, South Korean soldiers swore allegiance to the "Korean race" in their oaths of enlistment.