What a beautiful Sunday! The birds are singing, the sun is shining, and a brand new season of Squid Game (오징어 게임) has been released. We're still watching, so no spoilers, or else...
This week we thought it'd be timely to chat about the games in the show. The names of each of the games contain some great vocab and a bit of grammar that can be applied broadly!
Let's get started!
You already know which one is first:
무궁화 꽃이 피었습니다
That's right — it's the Korean version of Red Light/Green Light.
The phrase above is both the name of the game and what the doll, whose name is 영희, says before...well, you know.
무궁화 꽃이 = 무궁화 (hibiscus) + 꽃이 (flower, with the subject particle 이)
Bit of history on 무궁화 🌺
This flower is a core national symbol of Korea. It's meaning is "eternal blossom that never fades" and is their national flower. It's found in:
- Their national anthem
- The emblem of the president
- The lawmaker's badge
- Supreme court logo
Even back in the Silla Kingdom (57 BC – AD 935), they referred to themselves as 근화향 which translates to "Country of the 무궁화".
During the Japanese occupation of Korea, they sought to uproot and burn all of the 무궁화 and replace them with their national symbol, the cherry blossom.
무궁화 became a symbol of resistance throughout that period and as such became a core part of the symbology of the nation as a whole.
피었습니다 = 피다 (to bloom, conjugated into the past tense, formal)
So, the whole phrase is "the hibiscus flower bloomed".
Next up we're going to talk about a grammar point that maps to many of the other games!
Adjective/Verb—기
This part of speech turns verbs and adjectives into nouns. You can think of it of changing verbs into their "-ing" forms in English, most of the time.
With that in mind, let's take a look at some games from the show!
- 딱지치기 = 딱지 (a square, folded, paper toy) + 치다 (to hit) + -기 = square folded toy hitting (sounds a bit better in Korean, eh?)
딱지 can be in many shapes and colors
- 구슬치기 = 구슬 (marble) + 치다 (to hit) + -기 = hitting marbles (or just marbles, the game)
- 비석치기 = 비석 (literally, a gravestone) + 치기 (you got this one by now) = hitting gravestones (you need to knock down the other player's stone with your stone)
They look a little like mini gravestones, don't they?
- 징검다리 건너기 = 징검 (stepping stones) + 다리 (bridge) + 건너다 (to cross) + -기 = crossing a stepping stone bridge (similar to hopscotch, a bit!)
- 가위바위보 하나 빼기 = 가위 (scissors) + 바위 (rock) + 보 (paper) + 하나 (one) + 빼다 (to remove) + -기 = Rock/Paper/Scissors Remove One
- Play Rock/Paper/Scissors with two hands, then take one hand back. It's a MUCH harder version, especially at speed.
- 팽이 돌리기 = 팽이 (spinning top) + 돌리다 (to spin) + -기 = top spinning
- 제기차기 = 제기 (close to a shuttlecock, but is mostly paper wrapped around a coin) + 차다 (to kick) + -기 = jegi kicking? (very similar to hacky sack, but kicking a different thing)
- Fun fact: apparently the South Korean Board of Education made this game required as one of the physical activities in physical education!
A few different 제기
So, now you should be able to take any verb and turn it into a noun!
공기놀이
This game (놀이) is similar to jacks, and involves picking up 공기 (little stones).
Painting from the 1700s of a game of 공기 by 윤덕희
There are 5 main steps to the game. Starting with 5 공기:
Steps 1 to 4 = 1(일)단-4(사)단: Toss one stone up and while it is in the air, pick up one more stone.
Step 5 = 꺾기 = 꺾다 (the act of turning, sharp pivot, flipping) + -기 (like from above): With all the stones in your hand, toss them up, flip your hand over so the back of your hand faces up then catch all the stones on the back of your hand. Then, toss them up again and catch all of them out of the air. Keeping your palm face-up to catch them is cheating and you'll be reprimanded for doing so! Be warned! ⚠️
- Playing this game with children is even more frustrating than it sounds. They are so good despite having smaller hands, the physics just doesn't make sense, I swear.