2 Games You Need To Know Before Chuseok

Chuseok, one of Korea's most well-known traditional days, is coming up. People of Korea are looking forward to this event very much, since there's a whole week of national holidays. But what is Chuseok, and why are people celebrating this big event?   Chuseok is a national holiday of Korea, celebrated every year on August 15th of the lunar calendar. You might ask, why use the lunar calendar? That is because until the early 20th century, the lunar calendar was widely used throughout the country. And since it had agricultural aspects back then, there were many events associated with the abundance of crops. And Chuseok was one of them. Being the biggest national holiday of Korea, families gather together and perform a memorial service for ancestors, called Cha-rye in Korean. But it is not only about Cha-rye, as family members who are hard to see reach out and have some valuable time together. When the family reconnects, several fun games can’t hurt.

  The first game I’d like to introduce is Yut Nori. Yut Nori has a few things that need to be prepared first. You first need four wooden sticks called Yut, four markers to keep track of your position, and lastly a board with 29 places. One Yut has two sides, the head and the tail. The head is round, and the tail is flat. To play, you need to place your markers on the start of the board and gently throw the four Yuts. If all four of the Yuts land on their tails, it is called 'Mo,' and you need to forward your marker for 5 spaces. If three of them do, it is called 'Yut,' and you move 4 spaces. If two, we call it 'Gul,' and you should move 3 spaces. If only one of them lands on it and its head faces upward, it's 'Gae.' You get to move 2 spaces. Lastly, if none of them lands on its tail, it is 'Do,' and you only get to move your marker one space forward. The first team to return to the starting point wins. Although it sounds easy, if you play it, you'll know it's very complicated but fun.

  The second one is Gonggi Nori. You need at least five small Gonggi, or anything small and light enough, such as beans, pebbles, and small erasers. There are many ways to play Gonggi based on where you live, but I will be explaining how it is played in my hometown. You place the five Gonggies on the ground and take one. You gently toss the one you picked into the air. While it is in the air, you quickly take another one from the ground and catch the one you threw. If you fail to catch it or touch other Gonggies, you have to give your turn to the opponent. When you have all the Gonggies in your hand, it is time for the final step. You throw all of them into the air and catch them with the back of your hand. The object is to catch as many as you can.

  To demonstrate, I played Gonggi with my dad.

This is me on my first try. I couldn't even catch the one I threw.

The turn went to dad, who failed at three Gonggies. This is a picture of him throwing the Gonggi.

  This is me trying to get the Gonggi on the ground. I actually went to 2 Googlies this time.

 While I couldn’t even get three Gonggies on my palm, he somehow managed to get them on the back of his hand. I will be practicing this on a daily basis so I can beat him next time.

  Why don't you play some traditional Korean games, too? I'm sure you'd like to have quality time with your loved ones with a fun and easy game.