Traditional Korean Games

COVID-19 has disrupted the regular flow of school activities, and unfortunately, the students have to do without certain extras like field trips and festivals. However, every month or two on a Friday afternoon, students can participate in their various club activities at school. This year, there is a volleyball/basketball club, soccer club, dance club, music club, and a few others. I decided to invite myself to the Traditional Korean Games Club.

"geol" - advance three spaces

Last year, I was a semi-regular member of the school 4H Club and I enjoyed several nature-based activities with the students, such as eating bugs, planting potted plants, and baking onion-flavoured cookies. Sadly, the teacher in charge of the 4H Club transferred to another school. This put me in the market for a new club.

Club activities are a fun break for the students, although some have told me that they'd rather go home and sleep than have to stay at school for an extra 90 minutes of playing volleyball. That aside, I really enjoy watching the students play with their friends away from the classroom. I occasionally stop by the volleyball club and watch a few matches. The students seem happy to have me as a spectator. They shout, "watch this teacher!" as they proceed to serve the ball into the net.

As I had so much fun with the 4H Club, I decided that I wanted to join a club again this year. One day, I noticed a new teacher was leading a club, but I wasn't sure what sort of club it was. It looked fun though. 

A couple of weeks later, this teacher struck up a conversation with me, asking where I was from and such, the usual questions. I took the opportunity to ask about her club and if it was possible for me to join. She was enthusiastic about the idea, and I was excited as well.

I eagerly awaited the next club day, but it was delayed several times because of COVID-19. Finally, the day arrived, and the teacher informed the club members that I would be joining that day.

When I arrived, the club was called into session and I sat down with the students at a desk. There was a PowerPoint presentation loaded up on screen describing the history and rules of the game we would be playing: Yunnori. These formalities are standard with any activity at school. I don't know if this was for my benefit but a student read the presentation in English. The student struggled through, but I was touched that he made the effort.

Apparently, this club learns about and plays a different traditional Korean game at each session. It's a nice way to connect to their culture and for me to learn more about Korean life. As it turned out, Yunnori was actually a lot of fun once I learned how to play.

Apparently, the game of Yunnori can be traced as far back as the Three Kingdoms era in Korea (56 BCE - 668 CE) and is traditionally played on New Year's Day.

The object of the game is to move your pieces around the game board, and once you've completed the course with four pieces you or your team have won. You can have multiple game pieces moving through the course at the same time, and if you land on a space already occupied by your colour, you just stack the pieces. However, if the opposition lands on a space occupied by one or more of your pieces, then your pieces are removed and the opponent occupies the space.

Instead of using dice, four sticks called "yut" are tossed into the air. The sticks are marked with Xs on one side and blank on the other. The configuration of sticks when they land (the number of Xs and blanks) determines how many spaces you can move your piece on the gameboard. If any of your sticks fall off the table during a toss, you lose your turn and don't get to advance. I really like that rule because it keeps the kids from getting too crazy with their "yut" toss.

The combination of the four sticks in the toss has a certain name and value:

"do"   O X X X = 1

"gae"   O O X X = 2

"geol" O O O X = 3

"yut"  O O O O = 4 and a free turn

"mo" X X X X = 5 and a free turn

"do" - advance one space

The students got really excited for the game and would call out which roll they hoped for. It reminded me of casino craps, and also checkers. Chance is involved with the "yut" toss, but strategy is required because you have to decide which of your pieces to move based on your toss. 

We played a few games of Yunnori while switching up the teams. Rock, paper scissors, as is custom in Korean middle school, always determined who was the one to go first.

Later, we rotated to a different game station along with the rest of the club, and played a more modern game called "DaVinci Code". Essentially, it is a guessing game based on the numbered tiles you have, and the tiles your opponents are displaying. This game was also quite fun, but not connected to traditional Korean culture. I think the teacher included it for variety and to keep the students engaged. It worked. Everyone appeared to be having a great time, and the players were getting demonstrative in their enthusiasm and competitiveness. The teacher actually had to pull one student out of the room to remind him of proper sportsmanship.

I'm delighted that I joined the Traditional Korean Games Club because it was really gratifying to play and have fun with the students. Most of the club members were first-grade students and I don't normally have classes with them. So, this was one of the few opportunities we have to spend quality time together. They welcomed me to the club and took time to explain the games. They were patient and problem-solved as a team when they needed to search for the proper English words needed to help me understand. I can't wait for the next club day, and I wonder what traditional Korean games I'll learn about next time.