Korean childhood

How to Play Paengi Chigi: The Version Korean Kids Actually Grew Up With

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A wooden Korean spinning top and a whip on a patch of ice in winter

If you search for how to play paengi chigi, almost every guide shows you the same scene: a child on frozen ground in winter, striking a wooden top with a small whip to keep it spinning. That version is real, and it is old. It is also not the game I played. I grew up … Read more

Traditional Korean Games: A Guide to the Childhood Classics Behind Squid Game

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Illustration of children in hanbok playing jegichagi, yutnori, ddakji, and jump rope in a traditional courtyard

If you discovered games like “Red Light, Green Light” or the paper-flipping ddakji through Netflix’s Squid Game, you’re in good company — the show introduced millions of people worldwide to Korean childhood games. But for those of us who grew up in 1980s Korea, these weren’t exotic curiosities. They were simply how we spent every … Read more