I vividly remember spending hours sitting in a circle with friends playing the game of gong-gi (공기) between classes, as well as before and after school, in my childhood. It is played by throwing and catching little pieces of gong-gi, five pieces of “cylindrically-shaped plastic stones” filled with small iron pieces that can be easily purchased from stationary stores. A long time ago, gong-gi was played with actual pebbles or stones. The origin of gong-gi is unknown, but it is a game that continues to entertain Korean children and adults alike—though gong-gi is lost to many adults as they grow older, like most childhood games. Even though it is stored away in memory lane, it is a game that every Korean knows how to play; the memory comes back to them once they pick up the stones. Perhaps it’s because it’s such an easy game, or perhaps because the game itself is so deeply connected with “aging” that whoever created it made it so that the touch of the stones on the tip of one’s fingers calls back all the memories from the past.      

The Origin

The origin of gong-gi is unknown, but a book called Ojuyeonmunjangjeonsanggo (오주연문장전상고), written during the reign of King Heonjong (1834-1849), refers to the game as “a game where children play with round stones called gong-gi […] where players throw stones in the air, catch them with the palm side of their hand.” Because of this documentation, it can only be speculated that gong-gi has been around for a long time.   

Throw the Pebbles

Steps:

1. Throw the five stones (in some regions with different types of gong-gi, the number of stones is varied) on the ground, pick up a stone, and throw it up in the air. While that one is still in the air, pick up one stone from the ground and catch the falling stone. Repeat this until you pick up all the stones on the ground. 

2. Throw five stones on the ground, pick up a stone, and throw it up in the air, just like in the previous step. Then, this round, pick up two stones from the ground while that stone is still in the air. 

3. Repeat the previous steps, picking up three stones from the ground. 

4. Then, with five stones in hand, throw one stone in the air, toss the others on the ground, and catch the falling stone before it hits the ground.

5. For the last one, toss the five stones from the palm of the hand into the air, swiftly turn the hand over, and catch them on the back of the hand. Throw up stones on the back of the hand and snatch them up with the palm side of the hand. At this last step, the number of stones caught inside the hand determines what “age” the person is. 

Each person takes a turn at these steps. Every 10 years of age, you have to throw the stone that is selected by another person. There are many rules that follow, such as how you can’t place the other hand on the ground for support, or how it doesn’t count if the stone was already in your hand, then sprung out and got caught again. These are also ways of cheating.

The rules of playing gong-gi make me think about the ironic concept of age reflected in it. Time and aging are both things unchanged when everything else in the world is prone to influence. Perhaps the game attempts to deliver the purity of time and the organic nature of aging year by year.  

Reflecting the Time and Context of the Era

Gong-gi portrays a time, especially that of childhood, carrying a sense of nostalgia. The memories of the time or era are engraved in the touch of the stones.  

Because there are numerous ways to play this game depending on the region, so are the stones used and rules applied. In the past, the game was played with materials found around those who played them. Pebbles, pieces of animal bone, beetroot shells or conch shell pieces, fruit (plum) seeds, beans, or even small lumps of round mud pieces were used, often portraying where they were at the time, naturally bringing back memories spent there. It can also tell about the foods or lifestyle during that era. 

The names of the rules and moves also reflect things enjoyed in childhood. “Pencil board” is when a player supports themselves with a hand flat on the floor. A pencil board is a type of laminated board used by children to write more neatly on paper. Until the 1990s, it was one of the most commonly used items at schools and at home. In most cases, this was against the rules. 

“Gym field” is when a player opens their leg wide to play the game in the wide space made. All schools have an open field in front of the building for children’s lunch recess or physical education. As imagined, physical education is one of the most freeing and enjoyable classes for children. 

“Painting a picture” is to see and think out which stone to pick after throwing the stones on the ground. As an activity frequently enjoyed by children, the name sounds delightful and light, but the rules suggest that the player is testing and picking out a stone to throw in the air strategically. “Painting a picture" no longer appears genuine or childlike. 

“Washing rice” refers to when a player shakes the stones in their hand, often in an attempt to rearrange the placements of the stones in the hand. This motion imitates a mother washing rice to cook it, an image that children were easily exposed to at home.

“Mother’s hug” and “sowing seeds” also portray the lifestyle that children were exposed to during that time. “Mother’s hug” is when a player catches gong-gi pieces with their hand on their chest, and “sowing seeds” is throwing the stone pieces to lay out in an intended way. 

The motions of handwork with stones and their names provide a lost sentiment that is filled with memories of innocence, family love, and friendship in all aspects of the game.

Documentation of Time

As all objects, rituals, and performances do, within the game of gong-gi and its theories, there exist children’s innocent laughs and the time where they loved without calculation. It is our time that is embedded within the game. The true beauty of it is the strength of bringing back those moments of the past so lightly, without tension or pressure, through just the tips of the fingers as they touch the gong-gi stones.