Sujagi

The Sujagi is a flag with the hanja 帥, pronounced su in Korean, that denotes a commanding general.

[1] This type of flag was put in a fortress where a commanding general was located.

[2] In the case of the extant sujagi in Korea, it represented General Eo Jae-yeon who, in 1871, commanded the Korean military forces on Ganghwa Island, which is off the northwest coast of present-day South Korea, near the capital of Seoul.

[3] As with other war prizes, it was put into the collection of the museum at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

[7] As of September 2022, the lease had been renewed for the flag to stay in South Korea until at least October 2023.

The captured Sujagi aboard USS Colorado in June 1871 during the United States expedition to Korea . In the foreground are United States Marines (from left to right) Corporal Charles Brown , Private Hugh Purvis , and Captain McLane Tilton.
Captured Sujagi aboard USS Colorado . From right to left: U.S. Marine Corporal Charles Brown , U.S. Marine Private Hugh Purvis , and the sailor on the left is believed to be Cyrus Hayden (U.S. Navy). All three were awarded the Medal of Honor .