Hwatu and Go-Stop: History and Rules, from Hanafuda to Holidays

Families gathered around a game of Hwatu during Seollal or Chuseok is a familiar scene in Korea. Yet Hwatu was not originally a traditional Korean game. Cards brought to Japan by Portuguese merchants in the 16th century turned into "hanafuda" in Japan, then arrived on the Korean Peninsula in the late 19th century and became the Hwatu we know today.

In this post, we trace the path Hwatu took to reach Korea, look at how its 48 cards are organized, and walk through the rules of Go-Stop, the best-known Hwatu game. This post introduces the history and rules as part of play culture; it does not encourage playing for money.

From Portuguese Cards to Japanese Hanafuda

Playing cards were first brought to Japan by the Portuguese in the mid-16th century. Portuguese decks of the time had four suits of 12 cards each, for 48 cards in total. The first cards made in Japan were modeled on these Portuguese cards during the Tenshō era (1573–1592) and were called "Tenshō karuta." The word karuta itself comes from the Portuguese "carta," meaning card.

When cards came to be used for gambling, the Edo shogunate banned them several times.

Each ban was followed by new cards with redesigned art, and at the end of this game of hide-and-seek came cards that depicted flowers and seasons instead of numbers. To make them look like poetry cards (uta-garuta), which were permitted for education, some cards even had old poems written on them; the writing on today's Hwatu ribbon cards is a trace of this. Hanafuda was eventually standardized as 48 cards: 12 flowers representing the 12 months, with 4 cards per month.

There is one well-known fact related to hanafuda. The game company Nintendo was founded in 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi to make and sell handmade hanafuda. Although Nintendo shifted its focus to video games from the 1970s, it still makes hanafuda in Japan today.

Hwatu Arrives in Korea

Hanafuda is believed to have reached the Korean Peninsula around the late 1890s. One theory says it came in during the Imjin War, but the more likely account is that Japanese merchants, including traders from Tsushima, spread it through port cities in the late 19th century. In Korea it was given the name Hwatu (花鬪), meaning "flower battle."

By the Japanese colonial period it had already spread widely among ordinary people, giving rise to "unsu-ttegi," a way of telling one's fortune with Hwatu, and the folk song "Hwatu Taryeong," which interprets the picture for each month.

After liberation, it was used less for a while because it was seen as too Japanese, and its design changed in the 1950s. At that time the material switched from easily worn paper to plastic, and the art was simplified with fewer colors for mass production.

How Hwatu Differs from Hanafuda

They share the same roots, but Korean Hwatu and Japanese hanafuda look quite different.

The clothing of the figure on the Rain Bright card is Japanese-style in hanafuda but was changed in Hwatu. Korean Hwatu decks include bonus cards with Go-Stop in mind.

The 48-Card Deck

Hwatu has 4 cards for each month from January to December, for 48 cards in total.

The cards fall into four main types.

• Brights (gwang, 光): Five cards, found in January, March, August, November, and December.
• Animals (yeolkkeut): Cards that mostly depict animals.
• Ribbons (tti): Red poetry ribbons (hongdan), blue ribbons (cheongdan), and plain red ribbons without writing (chodan).
• Junk (pi): The remaining low-value cards. There are also "double junk" cards that count as two.

It is also interesting that the art draws heavily on the ten symbols of longevity from East Asian painting, such as pine, crane, sun, moon, and deer, and on the "Four Gentlemen" motifs of plum, orchid, chrysanthemum, and bamboo.

When Did Go-Stop Begin?

There are many games played with Hwatu, including Minhwatu, Yukbaek, Seotda, and Go-Stop, but the most popular in Korea is Go-Stop. When played by two people, it is also called "Matgo."

Sources differ on exactly when Go-Stop emerged. Many agree that it branched off from similar Japanese flower-card games (such as hana-awase and hachi-hachi) and that it became hugely popular in Korea in the 1970s. In the 1980s, variant rules satirizing the political situation of the time appeared, and Go-Stop's rules have kept changing with the times. That is why even today, every household has its own slightly different "house rules."

Basic Go-Stop Rules

Below are the commonly used basic rules. Details may vary by region and household.

Dealing

• Two players (Matgo): 8 cards face up on the table, 10 cards in each player's hand.
• Three players: 6 cards on the table, 7 cards in each player's hand.
• The remaining cards are stacked face down in the middle.

A Turn

1. Play one card from your hand; if it matches a card of the same month on the table, take both. If nothing matches, simply place it on the table.
2. Flip one card from the center pile; if a card of the same month is on the table, take that pair as well.
3. Play proceeds counterclockwise.

Common Situations

In favorable situations like jjok, ttadak, and bombs, you take one junk card from each opponent.

Scoring, "Go," and "Stop"

Points are calculated from the combinations of cards you collect.

Once you reach 3 or more points in a three-player game, or 7 or more in a two-player game, you must make a decision.

• Go: Keep playing. Your score can rise further, but you are at a disadvantage if someone else scores first in the meantime.
• Stop: End the round and lock in your score.

Losers may also face rules that double the score against them, such as "pibak" (too few junk cards), "gwangbak" (no Brights at all), and "gobak" (calling Go and then losing). When a round ends with nobody scoring, it is called "nagari."

Things to Know When Playing

Go-Stop is a game that mixes luck and judgment. Deciding which card to play first, and when to call "Go" and when to stop, brings the fun of reading probabilities and your opponents' hands.

However, Hwatu has been entangled with gambling throughout its history, and there are still cases of online Go-Stop being used for illegal gambling. Article 246 of the Korean Criminal Act punishes those who gamble with a fine of up to 10 million won or a minor fine, with an exception only for cases that amount to temporary amusement. Where amusement ends can depend on the amount and circumstances, so even when playing with family, it is safer to keep score with points or Go stones instead of money.

A single deck of Hwatu holds more than 400 years of stories, from Portuguese cards and Edo-era bans to Korean holiday scenes.

References

• Hanafuda - Wikipedia
• Go-Stop - Wikipedia
• Hwatu - Wikipedia (Korean)
• Go-Stop - Wikipedia (Korean)
• Gambling offense - Wikipedia (Korean)
• Nintendo Company History (Japanese)