Jegichagi

What it is

Jegichagi is a game played with the foot and a small paper object. The jegi itself is paper folded around one or more coins, so that it looks rather like a shuttlecock. Players strike it upward with the inside of a shoe and try not to let it reach the ground. There is no pitch, no net and no special gear; a patch of open ground is enough. Children in Korea have played it for generations, and the sources describe it above all as a winter pastime, though it is now played through the year.

Origins and stories

Nobody has left a written account of how jegichagi began, the sources say. One legend traces it to young martial artists who trained by kicking a small leather pouch. The Samguk yusa, an early Korean history, tells how well cuju was played in Goguryeo; cuju is a Chinese game of kicking a ball, and it was widely played in Korea at that time. Jegichagi is said to have changed under that influence. Another story concerns Kim Yushin of Silla, who, while pretending to play the game, trod on the long ribbon ties of Kim Chunchu's clothing and pulled them loose. His sister sewed the ties back on, and in time she married Kim Chunchu, who later became Muyeol of Silla.

How the game is played

The simplest contest is one against one: each player kicks the jegi again and again, and the longer run of kicks wins. In a group, everyone forms a circle and takes a turn. A player who cannot get the jegi back in the air, and lets it hit the ground, is out. The penalty is playful: the loser throws the jegi at the winner, who kicks it wherever he likes, and the loser must catch it with his hands before he can play again. Many variations exist, using different parts of the foot, both feet, higher lifts, or even the mouth.

Making a jegi

A coin with a hole in the middle is the traditional weight. A sheet of hanji, Korean paper, is folded in half around it and folded over again, then pierced so that the hole in the coin can be used to thread the paper through. The ends are pulled out and shredded into strands. A quicker version puts two or three coins in the middle of a square of tissue or plastic, bunches the material around them, and ties it tight with string or a rubber band before cutting the loose part into strips. Weight matters most: about ten grams is said to work best.

Today and change

Jegichagi was once a game of cold mornings. It is now played at any time of year, and the sources note that some people have combined two or three materials to make new versions. The Korean Jegichagi Association was set up in 2000 to write fresh rules suited to the present generation. Even so, the game's following has shrunk beside other well-known Korean games. To keep it in children's minds, South Korea's Board of Education made it a required part of physical education lessons, usually in the third or fourth grade. In 2011 an American company brought out a children's toy, Kikbo, based on it.

How Jegichagi is kept

Players need only a jegi and open ground. One person kicks it upward with the inner edge of the foot and keeps it going for as long as possible. Two players compare their longest unbroken runs. In a group, everyone stands in a circle and kicks in turn; whoever lets the jegi drop is out. That player then throws the jegi towards the winner, who kicks it at will, and the loser has to catch it with both hands before rejoining. Beginners are told not to hold an arm out in front for balance, and a right-footed player does better with the right hand resting at the hip.

When and where

The game belongs to winter, and most of all to Korean New Year, when children play it alone or with friends. It was once thought of as a seasonal game, but the sources describe it as a year-round activity now.

Jegichagi is kept in North Korea and South Korea, where children play it alone or with friends. It is played outdoors, needing no court, so a yard, a school playground or a street corner will do. In South Korea the game also has a place in schools, since the Board of Education made it a required activity in physical education lessons for younger grades.

What Jegichagi means

The sources do not set out a symbolic meaning for jegichagi. What they show is a game carried by children and by memory. It appears in an old history as a skill of the Goguryeo past, in a Silla tale as the cover for a courtship, and in schools today as something worth passing on. Its value, as the sources frame it, lies in play itself and in the effort to keep a traditional game in front of each new generation.

Questions people ask about Jegichagi

See also

YunnoriA Korean board and stick-tossing game played with tokens during the Lunar New YearGutSacred rites of song, dance, and spirit communion performed by Korean shamansGanggangsullaeA Korean harvest dance where women hold hands and sing in circles under the full moonDaeboreumA Korean festival of the first lunar full moon, marked by fires, wishes and feasts

Good reading and sources

• Jegichagi on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.