Korean Hand Games

Filed as: How-To // Responses: 62

If you’ve been teaching English in Korea for a while, or just living in Korea in general, then you surely must have come across one of these Korean hand games before. Kai Bai Bo is the monstrously popular Korean version of Rock, Paper, Scissors, while Di Bi Di Bi Dip is what you saw Martina play with her students for the High School Festival Bunny Games, and Zero (or Jero) is another popular game that we just happen to play against each other when we’re bored. We want to introduce you to them today, but with a twist! Showing the games on their own might be boring, so we’ve lined up some punishments for the losers. Muahahaha! But first, the games:

1) Kai Bai Boh, ê°€ìœ„ë°”ìœ„ë³´ (sometimes pronounced Gawi Bawi Bo) is just Rock, Paper, Scissors, except it has loads of variations to it. If you’re worried about playing against a cheater who reads your hand and then switches up his/her answer, you can play it back to back, and put up your rock, paper, or scissors above your head. Or, if you’ve got more than two people playing, you can still all play together in an elimination tournament of sorts. So, with four people, if everyone has something different, then no one wins. But if there are only rocks and papers thrown, then the rocks are eliminated and only the papers go on, until one winner is declared. Good times!

2) Di Bi Di Bi Dip is played in different ways. We’re showing the big gesture game, but it’s sometimes played with just pointing to someone’s face and hoping they don’t move their face in the same direction, as can be seen in this TVXQ video. The big gestures version we’re playing has the same concept in that, if I’m the leader, I’ll do one of three gestures at the end of the phrase “di bi di bi dip.” If you do the same gesture, I win.

3) Zero (or Jero as it’s pronounced in Korean) is like thumb wars, but with more thumbs and less wrestling. Two people play this game, and put in two fists each with their thumbs facing upward, but not pointed up, yet. The leader shouts out a number from 0 to 4, and raises up either 1, 2, or no thumbs, as does the follower. If the total number of thumbs raised is the same as the number called, the winner gets one point and goes again. If it is not the same, then the follower becomes the leader and shouts out a number instead. The first person to five points wins.

Now, there are loads of different ways to play these games, we know. We just wanted to introduce them here, and – really – we just wanted an excuse to make the other person do stupid things. Buahahahaha! We’ve been watching too many Korean variety shows since our episode of Running Man, and we’d love to have our own show like that one day. Since no one will give us one, we’ll just make our own!

And, as always, big thanks to JB and Annie from [ë‹‰ì‘¤] Enjoy Your Happy Life~* for the Korean subtitle translations! This video was around 15 minutes, and was nothing but us talking. Transcribing it was a huge pain, so I’m sure translating it was even worse. Thanks so much to the two of them for putting this mother of a video in Korean for our Korean audience. Woo!

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Ana

Poor Martina

Nice video though XDD
koreancockapoo

she could say "jjok pallyeoh"

http://www.eatyourkimchi.com Eatyourkimchi

Ha! I see someone's subscribed to our newsletter

koreancockapoo

Yup i am gonna teach english in korea when i grow up

tara

I LOVED THIS VIDEO! i'm going to show it to my students….and we will play the games at our christmas party!!!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1146214844 Ria Kim Lee

haha this vid was awesome!! i'm so gonna teach my friend these games so we can play the at school!! yays! haha and i can play against my korean friend and show them my superior skill…well…im more like martina actually haha sorry martina

but i have a question…there's a game that i've seen people play on tv shows where two people stand face-to-face and try and knock each other down by hitting the other persons hands…okay so its kinda hard to explain with any actions but did u understand that? :p i really would like to know what that game is called…

anyway u guys are awesome!
simon, martina AND SPUDGY HWAITING!!

http://www.eatyourkimchi.com Eatyourkimchi

I know the game, I just don't know the name of it. Martina played it in her school festival video. We couldn't play it against each other, though, because Simon's really big and Martina's really small

Orlando

OOOOOOOH! I remember! Thanks, now I have some fun hand games for Christmas!
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000270438343 Crystal Cook

I love this vid.,, but I love Simon's shirt even more ..lol is that Mac and Cheese? Very Cool

http://www.eatyourkimchi.com Eatyourkimchi

Mac and Cheese is the best team EVER! Next to milk and cookies. Luckily, I've got a shirt for that, too.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000847186237 Emerson King

This is so funny! I hope the skin of your face became beutiful skin like silk..haha thank you for the great video that made me laugh then happy.. =)
wonadon

Ah, I remember DBSK playing that on Heroine 6! They also played this games called "Let's Catch the Mouse." It's up on Youtube somewhere……But Simon should have Dibi Dibi a little faster….

And my brother and I like to play a variation of Kai Bai Bo with two hands each! We say "Kai Bai Bo" and both people hold out something for both hands. Then you say "Hana bbeki." (Take one out). You hold out of your two hands and if it beats whatever the other person holds out, you win.

There's also Mook Jji Bba. It's like a combo of Dibi Dibi and Kai Bai Bo. You do Kai Bai Bo, then whoever has the winning hand has to try to get the other person to get the same hand thingie. Mook is rock, Jji is scissors, and Bba is paper.
Jennifer

I have to comment on this. My mother is Korean, and until I was in high school, I had no idea that Kai, Bai, Bo was Korean. Yeah, lame I know, but I seriously had no clue. No one ever commented on the fact that I would say Kai Bai Bo…and then play rock paper scissors…yeah. Sad, right?
sujung

There's hand game called "ABC"!!!!
Peter

Martina, you always open with rock!!!
D.W.

Ok, at first I really enjoyed the video. I have a bit information about the gestures of DBDBDip. Third one is from a kung fu bow,
http://puzzles-games.eu/data/media/3/Kung-Fu-Pand… http://unusualmedia.com/images/ma/3d/bow.jpg (more like this one)

The rest are from Crane's and Mantis'. You can watch the instruction from Kung Fu Panda. lol

And I love your website a lot!! Big Fan!

-The legendary Dragon Warrior
Viet

Lol i found a game that SNSD play in "Hello Baby" show It called alkkagi i guess that how u spell it >You Guy should try to play it<
And more I hate u guy because u got some coolest dog ever spudgy (lol just kidding) I like u guy but i love spudgy more it so cute. FYi im a guy but i love cute animal except hamster. Hpe to see more of your videos in the future.
eduard

i want dokebi game.. ^_^..
Kuri Kaii

wow that helps me alot thank you eatyourkimchi.com!
SU

First of all LÃ–W LÃ–W your videos. I have gone all made on your page today and can’t stop laughing ) Made my day!!

I know another game, dunno if someone have already mention it but, anyways learned it on MT in Korea last year.

The game is called mandu-mandu. You play with either closed/open hand (form your hand as a upside down puppet-hand . . .). The game starts with a chant ” Mandu, mandu, mandumandumandu, gogi mandu, kimchi mandu, mul mandu”. (found the chant on another page)

The game also depends on how many you are e.g. 5 players x 5 hands (just play with ONE hand) so if a hand is open its 5, when its closed is 0. So you start singing the chant and the person first start playing has so say number between 0 – 25 (5×5) . . . If that person says 15 and three people have their hand open (palm out) he/she wins . . .

I sooo BAD at explaining, especially this game is easier when you actually see the game and not writing about it. But I bet there are better explanations out there, just google Mandu-Mandu korean game or sumthin’!

//ALL Korean-lover from Sweden, who is soon leaving to Seoul for a year of studies *woop woop*
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001144030445 Melbaloveha Meyshine

w w w w wait…the album of the week is WHAT!? 2NE1????
http://profiles.google.com/frankim90 Frances Kim

you guys should play A-B-C-D
Eun Fox

i just now realized that said nail secretion, not snail
Joelle Jung

Chopsticks! How can you forget Chopsticks???!! XD

It’s a two-person game that starts out with each person holding out two fingers, one on each hand (usually the index finger). Then, after deciding who will go first, the first player hits the other player’s finger with their own. The rule is, you’re supposed to add the number of fingers you were hit with to the one you have originally. So, for example, if you were holding up one finger on one hand, and the other person hits you on that hand with one finger, hold up two fingers on that hand. If you’re holding up one finger, and you are hit with two, hold up three fingers, etc. The maximum amount of fingers you are allowed to hold up on one hand is four. Oce you go past four, you’re supposed to put the hand behind your back and you are not allowed to play with that hand any more. The first person to ‘lose’ both their hands loses!
Pearl Silver

Love the Emperor’s New Groove Reference!! ahaha (If that’s what it was >.>) I can’t believe I haven’t seen this video before :