As I mentioned to Jenna as a goal of my Korean learning this year, I want to learn more about Korean cultures. This week, I learned about the 고스톱 (Go-stop) game, a traditional card game in Korea. I’ve seen old people playing this game in Korean dramas during the festivals, but I never got to understand the rules of it. It always seems that everyone has their own sophisticated strategy for the game, which looks cool to me.
Jenna introduced the basics of the game to me – the cards. The cards are named 화투, where 화 means flower, and the whole word means “flower cards”. All have them have drawings with styles in sync. There are 48 cards in total, categorized into 12 different months, so there are 4 cards for each month. The cards from each group or family have different names. For example, the cards of January is called 송학, which means crane, and thus there is one crane drawn on a card from this set. In the game, there are four different kinds of cards: 피 (shell), 띠, 열끝/멍, and 광 (light). However, it is not that each family will have all four kinds of cards. Instead, in each family, there is either a 광 or 열끝, one 띠, and two 피 cards. For each kind of card, the drawing on the card will have different details. For example, 띠 cards have red or blue ribbon across the drawing, and 광 cards have a small Chinese character written at the corner of the card.
I then went to YouTube and tried to learn more about the rules. I watched several videos, but it is still very confusing. When the game starts, 6 cards will be shown on the table and each player will have 7 cards to their own. The general rule is that each player is using their own cards to win the cards on the table and getting points. When a player gets to 3 points, he/she gets to decide if he/she is going or stopping. As they go more, they will earn more points if they are winning points from the next round. However, if they do not get any points and the other players do not get any points, this round will be not valid and the scores at the next round will be doubled.
I really want to try this game once, not with money since that would be illegal gambling. I believe it will be easier as I try it more and figuring out some strategies for winning points without making the round null. I love that this game can bring family members and friends closer and it allows you to chat as you play. I hope I get to try this game someday with my friends.
YouTube video that I watched for instruction:
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