Jegichagi

Jegichagi is a traditional Korean outdoor game where players try to keep a small object called a *jegi* aloft by kicking it repeatedly. The *jegi* resembles a shuttlecock and is made by wrapping paper around a small coin. While the game is most commonly played during winter and around Korean New Year in both North and South Korea, it is now enjoyed throughout the year.

In a basic game, the player kicks the *jegi* upward and continues kicking to stop it from hitting the ground. In one-on-one matches, the person with the longest streak of consecutive kicks wins. In group play, participants stand in a circle and take turns kicking. Anyone who fails to kick the *jegi* when it comes to them, letting it fall, is out. As a penalty, the loser tosses the *jegi* to the winner, who then kicks it freely. The loser can rejoin the game only after catching the *jegi* with their hands.

No written records pinpoint the game’s origin, but legend says it grew out of martial arts training where young fighters practiced kicking a small leather pouch. Some have speculated that *jegichagi* may have been influenced by *cuju*, a Chinese ball-kicking game mentioned in the *Samguk Yusa* as being played in Goguryeo, but no direct link or evolution is stated in that text. A well-known story from the Silla period involves Kim Yushin stepping on Kim Chunchu's beard or ribbon during a game of ssireum (wrestling), not *jegichagi*, and this event is not associated with the marriage of Kim Yushin's sister to Kim Chunchu.

In 2000, the Korean Jegichagi Association was founded to update the rules for modern players. Despite being a well-known traditional game, *jegichagi* has lost popularity. To keep it alive, South Korea’s Board of Education made it a required activity in physical education classes, typically for third or fourth graders. In August 2011, an American company released a children’s toy called Kikbo, based on *jegichagi*.

Traditionally, a *jegi* is made by folding a sheet of *hanji* paper around a coin with a hole in the center. The paper is folded several times, then a sharp object pierces through both paper and coin hole. The ends of the folded paper are pulled through this hole, then unfolded and torn into strands. A simpler method uses a 25 cm square cut from a plastic bag or tissue, with two or three coins placed in the center.