[Korea Root] 'Expression of Public Desire'... Squid Game and Gangwon-do Folk Games

Folk Games Harmonized with Seasonal Customs
Interaction Between Gods and Humans, Nature and Humans

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] The enthusiasm for the Korean film 'Squid Game,' which resonated with people worldwide, shows no signs of fading.

It uses expressions like "dead" and "alive," which children often used while playing games in their childhood, and 'Squid Game' takes this idea to conduct a life-or-death game.

Director Hwang Dong-hyuk, who directed 'Squid Game,' said, "I wanted to write an allegorical story about modern capitalist society," adding, "It depicts extreme competition similar to the harsh competition of life."

'Squid Game' has become a pop culture phenomenon. It has brought renewed attention to Korean dramas and films, but looking more closely, it also serves as an opportunity to reexamine nostalgic games that were disappearing.

Most of Korea's folk games were intertwined with seasonal customs. This article looks into folk games disappearing around us, including the folk customs of Sangwonil (the first full moon of the lunar year) recorded in 'Dongguk Sesigi,' which documents folk games in the Gangwon-do region. [Editor's note]

■ Seasonal Customs and Folk Games

Gangwon-do Folk Art Contest [Gangwon-do]

Folk games in Gangwon-do include Chuncheon’s 'Chajeon (Car Battle)' and children's 'Making Bird-Chasing Sounds.'

The Gangwon-do history states, "There is a Chajeon passed down in Chuncheon, where each village made a one-wheeled cart and pushed it forward to fight," and explains, "They used it to predict the year's fortune, believing that the losing side would face a bad harvest."

As a custom in the mountainous areas of Gwandong, children gather and shout the names of various birds while pretending to chase them away, called 'Making Bird-Chasing Sounds.' It is meant to pray for a good harvest.

Recording the custom of Chajeon and bird-chasing by calling out various bird names as folk customs of Chuncheon and the mountainous areas of Gangwon-do suggests that this game was seen as a special custom.

Chuncheon Turtle Play [Gangwon-do]

Here, Gwandong (關東) does not refer only to the Yeongdong (嶺東) region but broadly indicates Gangwon-do.

According to 'Gangwon-doji (Gangwon Province Records),' a humanities geography book of Gangwon-do published in 1959 after the turbulent periods of liberation and the Korean War, under the category 'Yuhui (遊戱)' (play), over 80 types of folk games and 24 popular games were introduced in detail, including how to play them.

The children's games introduced under 'Yuhui' are as follows:

Watermelon picking, Kkontteugi, Hide-and-seek, Land-eating game, Military play, Land grabbing, Thread play, Stone kicking, Question and answer play, Jegichagi (shuttlecock kicking), Catching Cao Cao, Ball hitting, Yeot hitting, Spinning top, Jump rope, Palm slapping, Catching dragonflies, Linking arms, Snowball fight [眼爭], Palanquin riding, Matchstick play, Pinwheel spinning, Rubber band jumping, Hula hoop spinning, etc.

Also, in the 1970s government-conducted 'Comprehensive Survey Report on Korean Folk Customs,' Gangwon-do's folk games are divided into Yeongdong and Yeongseo regions and have been passed down to this day.

Gangneung Ganno Mask Dance Drama [Gangwon Province]

Yeongseo region games include Neolttwigi (seesaw), Yutnori (traditional board game), Kite flying, Donchigi (money hitting game), Daeboreum bonfire lighting, Tug of war, Jegichagi, Jwibulnori (fire spinning), Jachigi (stone throwing), Paengichigi (top spinning), Marble games, Gonggi (knucklebones), Bell hitting, Hide-and-seek, Mokja play, Rubber band play, Ttakji chigi (card flipping), Towel spinning, Can kicking, Clapping hands, Goni play, Janggi (Korean chess), Baduk (Go), Hwatu (flower cards) playing, etc.

Yeongdong region games include Kite flying, Yutnori, Neolttwigi, Paengichigi, Baduk, Janggi, Golpae, Mahjong, Tujeon, Hwatu, Ssireum (Korean wrestling), Donchigi, Jachigi, Motchigi (nail hitting), Ttakji chigi, Seol-i, Land grabbing, Goni (well goni, pumpkin goni, five-field goni, wheel goni, true goni), Pulkkaksi play, Gonggi, Swing, Yeot hitting, Pinwheel spinning, Jin (?) grabbing, Hide-and-seek, Horse riding, Jump rope, Jegichagi, Mokchim grabbing, Arm wrestling, Sickle hitting, Geollip (begging), Snowball fight [雪戰], Palanquin play, Gamyeong play, Groom hanging, Bride room peeking, Man (萬) younger sibling, Leg splitting, Jjang chigi, Tug of war, Nongak (farmers' music), etc.

Sokcho Lion Play [Gangwon-do]

■ Folk Games in Harmony with Nature

Wondooom Play in Wonju [Gangwon-do]

Historically, after experiencing turbulent times such as liberation and the Korean War, the form of rural settlements in Korea changed due to Western culture and industrialization.

With changes in farming methods, many folk games related to rural farming naturally disappeared from our surroundings.

Due to environmental changes and pollution effects, outdoor games where children were close to the ground became taboo games.

The 'Homisshi' festival, which was a farmers' celebration, was also discontinued, and children's games enjoyed with nature such as 'Mokja play' and 'Pulkkaksi play' also became taboo games.

In the 1960s, a new awareness of folk games emerged, creating an opportunity to approach them differently.

Starting from 1959, with the opening of the National Folk Arts Competition, active efforts were made at the provincial level to discover works in folk drama, folk dance, folk music, and folk games.

Yeongwol Arrowroot Tug-of-War [Gangwon-do]

Group folk games and Madangnori (yard plays) that could highlight uniqueness and tradition gained attention in open spaces.

Representative examples include Gangneung Gwanno mask play, Woljeongsa temple circumambulation, Chuncheon Chajeon play, Samcheok rope tugging, Hwacheon jangchigi, and Yeongwol kudzu rope tugging.

Additionally, there are Donghae City Bukpyeong magistrate play, Wonju Hoechon, Yeongwol Nam-myeon, Hoengseong Jeonggeum-ri Hosang play called Daedodeum, Pyeongchang Daebang play, and Yangyang's Groom Hanging.

Folk games express the public's wishes for communication between gods and humans, nature and humans, as well as among humans, so Gangwon-do's folk games are included in this category.

Especially, Gangwon-do, with its harsh natural environment and many mountainous areas, was inevitably a region where residents' such wishes were strongest.

Cheongsil Hongsil Play in Hongcheon [Gangwon-do]

Moreover, until before the Korean War, population movement in Korea was minimal, allowing regional folk customs to maintain their uniqueness and be passed down for a long time.

Gangwon-do folk games have particularities according to the geopolitical environment within the universal framework of Korea's traditional culture.

Chuncheon's Chajeon, such as the one-wheeled cart battle, is one of the games showing regional uniqueness.

The geographical condition of many mountains limited active contact with the outside, forming a culture that adapted to nature rather than human relationships, which seems to be reflected in folk games.

Rice Reaping [National Folk Museum]

Jigenori (carrying frame play) and sickle hitting were ways for children working in the mountains to rely on and communicate with each other. The fact that various children's games have been passed down for a long time is also a characteristic of Gangwon-do folk games.

Nature-friendly games such as Pulkkaksi play, grass fighting, and land-eating, as well as various children's games expressing pure childhood affection, have been passed down for a long time.