Korea traditional games part 2

Let's continue on our games this week~ What will we going to play? Hmm, let us start with.....

Tuho 투호

It is a game of the players try to cast the arrows into a narrow-necked jar. It is a form of entertainment for aristocrats in royal court yards and noblemen’s residences, but today it's played by people from all walks of life. The score is determined by counting the number of arrows collected in the jar. It looks easy, but the hole is quite small and to throw the arrows accurately to make it go into the hole is not as easy as it seems, for it requires good concentration and patience.

Jegichagi 제기차기

Jegichagi is an outdoor-game usually played among young boys. It can be played alone or with friends. Jegi looks like a shuttle-cock in a badminton game and is made of an old coin and hanji, traditional Korean paper. The player kicks a jegi up in the air and has to keep on kicking it to prevent from falling to the ground. A player usually uses one foot to kick the jegi up, but they can switch feet, too. In an one-to-one game, a player with the most number of consecutive kicks wins. In a group game, the players stand in a circle, and take turns kicking the Jegi. Players who fail to kick the Jegi upon receiving it and let it drop to the ground lose. As a penalty, the loser tosses the Jegi at the winner so that he can kick it as he wishes. When the loser catches the Jegi back with his hands, the penalty ends and he can rejoin the game.

Baduk 바둑

This games is said that origin from China and come over to Korea during fifth century.Two persons are required to play this game. They alternately placing black and white stones on the vacant intersections of a line grid. The standard size of this grid is 19 × 19. The objective of the game is to control a larger part of the board than the opponent. To achieve this, players strive to place their stones in such a way that they cannot be captured, while mapping out territories that cannot be invaded by the opponent without being captured.

Gonggi  공기

This game is played using 5 or more small grape-sized colorful pebbles. This game requires hand-eye coordination, quickness, planning skills and patience. 

Number of players: 1 or more 
How to play. There are five levels for this game. 
Step 1 The first level you toss down the fives pieces on the ground. So that they are in front of you randomly. 
Step 2 Then you select one (piece A) to be the one piece that you toss into the air. You only use one hand for this game. 
Step 3 As you toss piece A into the air you pick up one of the other pieces with the same hand, as piece A is still in the air. 
Step 4 Then catch piece A before it hits the ground while you have the other piece you just picked up in your hand. * modifying to make it more difficult/easier: To make it more difficult keep all of the pieces in your hand as you try to pick up each of the pieces one by one. For beginners after you pick up a piece you put it on the side and then go for the next one.

 

Step 5 When you have all five pieces in the palm of your hand you toss them and flip your hand over to try to get them to all land on the back of your hand. 
Step 6 After it is on the back of your hand you toss them again and try to catch them in your palm. The number of pieces you catch is the number of points you get. Step 7 The second level you need to pick up two pieces as piece A is in the air instead of one. And then repeat steps 3-6 
Step 8 Third level you pick up three pieces and then one or vice versa it does not matter. Then repeat steps 3-6 
Step 9 Fourth level you pick up four pieces and then repeat steps 3-6 Other rules: - You are not allowed to move the pieces on the ground to group them up or make them easier to pick up - you are not suppose to touch any of the other pieces on the ground other than the one you are trying to pick up - when the pieces are on the back of your hand you are not allowed to adjust them to make it easier to catch back into your palm.

Although it looks like game for children, but young age also love this game too~

So, hope you will gain some ideas on playing folk  games from Korea. Next time, invite friends to play and have some fun~ :D









sources from: http://koreajjang.com/2010/05/15/korea-traditional-games/

                    http://visitasiaguide.com/visit-korea/korean-folk-games.htm

                    http://mymariamargareta.blogspot.com/2012/01/korean-folk-games.html

                    http://news.mofat.go.kr/enewspaper/articleview.php?
                             master=&aid=1743&ssid=23&mvid=626

by JY

Korea traditional games part 1

Nowadays, kids are playing electronic games more than traditional games, for me, I would like to play traditional  games rather than computer games or programmed games~^_^  Let us see what are the traditional games play by Korean. 

Yeon Naligi (Kite flying) 연날리기

Kite flying is a square shaped  and well-wishing symbols are written on  yeon (kite) made by putting bamboo sticks on a changhoji paper cross ways and sewing them down.   It is sent up into the sky as far as the attached string will go,   the string is cut. Koreans used to make wishes for health and happiness for the New Year as a part of yeonnalligi. You can also play games with yeonnalligi by competing to see who can cut the other’s yeon string first. The Pangp'aeyon (shield kite) and Kaoriyon (stingray kite) are just two of the many different types of kites. Kite-flying is very popular when it comes on traditional holidays such as Lunar New Year's Day or other folk festival days.

Paengi-chigi (Top-spinning)파엔기치기

Top-spinning is one of the favorite sports of boys played either indoors or outdoors, this game offers a diversion from the heat of summer and the cold boredom of winter storms. 
The frozen rice paddies or ponds offer the best place to spin the top.

Tops were originally round pieces of wood that had been sharpened to a point at one end. A string was wrapped around and yanked to set the top spinning. Many games are played with tops. In one such game, a mark is made and the first person who can spin their top around the mark and back to its original position is the winner. In another game, each player tries to knock down the opponent's top in a game of "fighting tops".

Yutnori 윷놀이

It is a stick-throwing board game, which is believed to have its roots in divination rituals practiced by farmers in the 5th century. Now it is considered as the most popular traditional game.
It is played with four bamboo sticks — round on one side and flat on the other. First, the sticks are thrown on the ground, and you move your game piece according to the number that comes up (The combination of flat and round sides in each throw determines the number of spaces one can move on a board marked with 29 spaces). All four sticks are thrown together, and your game piece must cross the finish line to win.

Neoltwiggi 널뛰기

Neoltwiggi is a girls' jumping game played on boards that look like western seesaws. First,  place a rolled-up straw mat under a long board called a “neol”. One girl stands at the edge of the seesaw, and the other one stands at the other side. Each jumps in turn, and when one comes down, the other is launched into the air. The object of the game is to see who can jump higher.  This game originated from the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) when women, especially young girls, were confined to their homes. Folklore says the game developed out of the women’s desire to catch a fleeting glimpse of men passing outside their homes’ walls. New Year’s Day used to be the only time of year that girls could see over the courtyard walls. Thus the see-saw became a sport of love instead of physical exercise.

Go-Stop (고스톱)

This is also probably the famous game you often see in Korean dramas, where famiy members sit down together making noises of card being slapped to the cloth (they even have special blanket lookalike for this game). It is called hwatu (화투) in Korean. There are two or three players at a time for this game. The general point of this game is to score points, usually three or seven, and then call a “Go” or a “Stop.” When a “Go” is called, the game continues, and the amount of points or money is first increased, and then doubled, tripled, quadrupled and so on. When a “Stop” is called, the game ends and the winner collects their winnings.

Wants to know more, remember to follow our blog for Korea traditional games part 2~ XD

by : JY