Yut game is a folk game in which players compete to be the first to move all their pieces to the finish position by throwing four yut sticks and making moves on the board as indicated by the sides of sticks.
Devised by the resourcefulness and talent of our people and played on several occasions including the lunar New Year’s Day, yut game is a time-honoured folk game peculiar to the Korean nation.
The game was invented in ancient times based on the principles of natural and social phenomena.
On the yut board is drawn a figure representing the principles of movements in the universe. According to historical records such as “Junggyongji” (1649) and “Ojuyonmunjangjonsango” (mid-19th century), the position in the middle of the board with a total of 29 signifies the Pole Star while other 28 positions around it represent the 28 constellations studded around the ecliptic. The routes on the board, on the other hand, reflect the law of change of four seasons. The shortest route (round through 11 points) stands for the winter solstice with shortest hours of daylight, the two routes through the diagonal paths for the spring equinox and the autumnal equinox with equal hours of daylight each, and the longest route for the summer solstice with longest hours of daylight.
The four sticks for throwing reflect four directions ― north, south, east and west.
The names of moves also reflect ancient social systems and customs. Not only the titles of ancient government positions Joga, Kuga, Uga, Maga, etc. but also the size and speed of domestic animals widely kept in those days were used to make the names of moves. For instance, the names “To”, “Kae”, “Kol”, “Yut”(Shung) and “Mo” mean “pig”, “dog”, “sheep”, “ox” and “horse” respectively. As they believed that oxen played the most important part in farming, they called this yut game.
All these imply that yut game originated from the small desire of ancient people who wanted to be successful and to travel all around the world on domestic animals to their hearts’ content.
This ancient game was carried forward and developed as a folk game peculiar to our nation in the period of Three Kingdoms (Koguryo, Paekje and Silla), Palhae and Later Silla and it was widely introduced into other countries, too.
At present, some newly devised ways of playing help players develop their intellectual faculties and have a good time. The number of pieces has now increased from four to ten, which means the first one to move all the 10 pieces is the winner. “Huto” (one step back) and “Tuhuto” (two steps back) and some other rules like the need to have one extra move before the finish point are now adopted, which makes it even more entertaining.
Today yut game is enjoyed at industrial establishments and public organizations as well as at home on several occasions including traditional holidays like the lunar New Year’s Day, Jongwoldaeborum (the lunar January 15), and Chusok (the autumn festival), national holidays and other public holidays.
Im Sung Bin, section head at the Academy of Social Sciences
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