Park Bo Gum's Role in REPLY 1988 Likes to Play Baduk, Believed to be the Oldest Board Game

Kapanlagi.com - Do you still remember the character Choi Taek played by Park Bo Gum in the drama REPLY 1988? Choi Taek in the drama is portrayed as a Baduk athlete. Choi Taek always focuses on a square-shaped wooden board with round white and black stones. What is Baduk exactly?

Baduk is also known as Go in Japanese. It is a strategic game where two players use black and white stones to try to control as much space on the board as possible. It is still very popular in most Asian countries today. In Korea itself, there is actually a TV channel dedicated to this game.

1. Found 2500 Years Ago

Baduk © Wikipedia

This game itself was found in China about 2500 years ago. Even because of its long history and still being played until now, the game known as Weiqi in China is believed to be the oldest board game.

According to intergofed.org, a survey in 2016 by 75 member countries of the International Go Federation found that there are more than 46 million people worldwide who know how to play Go or Baduk and more than 20 million current players, mostly living in East Asia.

2. Origin of the Word Baduk

Baduk comes from Badok where Ba means flat and wide board while Dok means stone. There is another name history, Badukdok, which refers to game pieces and derives from the Chinese word 'paizi' which means arranging pieces.

According to legend, it is actually known that Weiqi was used as a teaching aid after the Chinese emperor Yao designed it for Danzhu, his son who was considered to need to learn discipline, concentration, and balance. Not only that, another story circulates that Weiqi was born from the hands of Chinese warlords and generals who in ancient times used stones to plan attack positions. Some also say that in the past, igo equipment was associated with divination or flood control.

3. Baduk Story in Korea

King Gaero and Dorim playing Baduk displayed at the Seoul Lantern Festival © korean.visitseoul.net

In the history of Baduk in Korea, there is a story about King Gaero finding a suitable person to play Baduk with, namely a Goguryeo monk named Dorim who was exiled. As reported by KBS World, Dorim is a skilled Baduk player and master of its techniques. This made King Gaero very satisfied with Dorim's ability in playing Baduk.

As a skilled Baduk player, Dorim is a perfect companion for the king. They spent their days discussing about the Baduk board. Unfortunately, it turned out that Dorim was known as a spy from King Jangsu of the Goguryeo Kingdom, who destroyed the Baekje Kingdom because King Gaero was deceived by Dorim's intelligence.

(kpl/mit)