Yut Nori: Korea’s Board Game With 1,700 Years of History and a Reflection of Korean Traditional Games
Before Squid Game, there was Yut Nori — a cherished Korean traditional game with over 1,700 years of history that continues to thrive today.
If you’ve watched Squid Game and found yourself captivated by the raw, nostalgic charm of Korean childhood games — Red Light Green Light, Dalgona, marbles — then there’s one more game you absolutely need to know about. It didn’t appear in the Netflix series, but it may be the most deeply woven into Korean culture of them all.
To truly appreciate the essence of these Korean childhood games, it’s essential to explore the broader category of Korean Traditional Games.
Among Korean Traditional Games, Yut Nori is one of the most cherished. Known as 윷놀이, this game has over 1,700 years of history and remains a beloved pastime during Korean holidays.
It’s called 윷놀이 (Yut Nori). A game with over 1,700 years of history — and counting.
Squid Game Connection
Squid Game introduced the world to Ddakji (tile flipping), Gong-gi (jacks), and the title game itself. But Yut Nori predates every single one of them — and unlike those games, it never disappeared. Even right now, every Chuseok and Seollal holiday, at neighborhood gatherings across Korea, whole families and neighbors play it together across generations.
A game older than the printing press
Yut Nori’s origins trace back to the Three Kingdoms period of Korea (roughly 3rd–7th century CE).
Early records suggest it wasn’t just entertainment — it was a form of divination ritual. The way the sticks landed was believed to reveal the fortune of the coming harvest and the year ahead.
So how does it actually work?
Yut Nori is played with four wooden sticks — flat on one side, rounded on the other. You throw all four at once, and how many land flat-side up determines how many spaces you move on the board.
All four flat-side up = Mo (馬 — Horse): move 5 spaces and throw again. The best possible result — the whole room will erupt.
Why people still play it: the power of togetherness
Here’s what sets Yut Nori apart from any board game you might play alone. The moment someone throws a Yut or Mo, the room erupts. Cheers and groans fill the air, grandparents tease grandchildren, and rival teams form within minutes. No wifi needed. No screen required. Just four sticks and a board — and suddenly three generations are laughing together on the living room floor.
This is what makes Yut Nori remarkable. It hasn’t survived because it was preserved in a museum. It survived because it’s genuinely, stubbornly fun. No nostalgia required.
Yut Nori vs. the games of Squid Game
- Mostly solo childhood street games
- Skill and nerve under extreme pressure
- Life-or-death, high-stakes framing
- Rooted in 1970s–80s childhood
- Team-based family and community game
- Luck + strategy + social connection
- Joyful, celebratory context
- Rooted in ancient Korean tradition
Director Hwang Dong-hyuk has said the games in Squid Game were chosen to reflect Korean collective memory. Yut Nori may be the oldest thread of that memory — but it carries none of the trauma. Only pure, unfiltered joy.
Can you actually try it?
Absolutely — and you should. Yut Nori sets are easy to find online, and the rules take about ten minutes to learn. But if you want the real experience?
No Korean friends? No local connections? Still determined to try it? — Come to Korea and slide into my DMs. Hahaha
I’m a Korean mom, and my door is always open. I’ll personally teach you how to hold the sticks properly.
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For a visual example, you can watch this Yut Nori video to see how the sticks are thrown and how the game moves forward.