Jegichagi

Jegichagi
U.S. Navy crew playing jegichagi with Korean students
Korean name
Hangul
제기차기
Revised RomanizationJegichagi
McCune–ReischauerChegich'agi

Jegichagi is a Korean traditional outdoor game in which players kick a paper jegi into the air and attempt to keep it aloft. A jegi is similar to a shuttlecock, and is made from paper wrapped around a small coin.

In Korea, children usually play alone or with friends in winter seasons, especially on Korean New Year. Briefly explaining the rules, the player kicks a jegi up in the air and keeps on kicking to prevent from falling to the ground. In a one-to-one game, a player with the most consecutive kicks wins. In a group game, the players stand in a circle, and take turns kicking the jegi. Players who fail to kick the jegi upon receiving it and let it drop to the ground lose. As a penalty, the loser tosses the jegi at the winner so that he can kick it as he wishes. When the loser catches the jegi back with his hands, the penalty ends and he can rejoin the game.[1] This has developed, and people combined two or three materials and made new ways of playing jegichagi. Though the game was traditionally mostly played in winter, it has become a year-round game.

  1. ^ Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. "Korean Traditional Folks Games". http://news.mofat.go.kr/enewspaper/articleview.php?master=&aid=1743&sid=27&mvid=626 Archived 2012-03-06 at the Wayback Machine. 2010-04-22