The traditional folk games of Korea are big on traditional holidays. When families gather to celebrate the times of new beginning, Seollolal, or thanksgiving, Chuseok, with the ancestral rites and abundant traditional Korean food, there always is room for playing a couple of folk games. The rules of the games are never written down, but passed down from one generation to another naturally by playing together. The folk games add that special element of the holiday spirit by bringing all members of the family together regardless of age or gender for sole purpose-rekindling the family ties and spirit and, of course, winning. Here are some of the games which are still widely popular.

Yutnori

Yutnori is one of the most popular traditional games in Korea. It is basically a board game with four halved wooden sticks and played like dice which land either face-up or face-down(flat side). To play it you need sticks, Yut board, and some markers as well. The players, divided into teams, throw the sticks into the air then move a marker on the Yut board according to the number of sticks which have landed face-up and down(flat side). Usually the team which moves all four markers around the board first wins. This game was derived from divination rituals. 

Jegichagi

Jegichagi is an outdoor-game usually played among young boys. It can be played alone or with friends. Jegi looks like a shuttle-cock in a badminton game and is made of an old coin and hanji, traditional Korean paper. The player kicks a jegi up in the air and has to keep on kicking it to prevent from falling to the ground. A player usually uses one foot to kick the jegi up, but they can switch feet, too. In an one-to-one game, a player with the most number of 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.

Noltuigi

Noltuigi is a girls' jumping game played on boards that look like western seesaws. The hinge of the seesaw's lever is a rolled-up straw mat. One girl stands at the edge of the seesaw, and the other one stands at the other side. Each jumps in turn, and when one comes down, the other is launched into the air. The object of the game is to see who can jump higher. This game makes western seesawing look easy.

Paengichigi

Paengichigi, or top-spinning, is a pastime game for the boys. It is played by spinning a round wooden top on its pointed end by whipping it with strings attached to a stick. They use a wooden stick to keep the top in motion, and the one whose top spins the longest is the winner. It is a challenging game in which contestants try knocking down the other's top while keeping their own spinning.

Tuho

In Tuho, the players try to cast the arrows into the hole of a narrow-necked wooden jar. The score is determined by counting the number of arrows collected in the jar. It looks easy, but the hole is quite small and to throw the arrows accurately to make it go into the hole is not as easy as it seems, for it requires good concentration and patience.
Tuho was originally an aristocrat's entertainment, but today it's played by people from all walks of life.