Everything About Hwatu: A Chronicle Contained in 48 Cards

Hundreds of years of history, culture, and our story hidden in 48 small illustrated cards.

• Discover that Hwatu originated from Portuguese cards.
• Understand the original Japanese cultural symbols contained in the 12-month Hwatu deck.
• Learn how Korea’s Go-Stop was born and what characteristics it holds.

The 48-Card Mirror Reflecting Korea’s Dual Nature

On a holiday evening, the whole family gathers in a room. Amid warm laughter, the sharp “slap!” of plastic Hwatu cards hitting a blanket rings out cheerfully. This is a familiar and joyful scene any Korean can relate to. Yet, these 48 cards also wear a very different face. In dark, damp back alleys, under suffocating tension, a high-stakes game unfolds in the world of “Tajja” (professional gamblers). There, Hwatu becomes both hope and despair, a cruel tool of fate that can change lives.

Thus, Hwatu serves as a small mirror reflecting the duality of Korean society. On one side lies the warmth of community and holiday joy; on the other, individual desire, deep resentment (han), and the precarious boundary between success and ruin. These small illustrated cards are more than mere playthings—they are a portable archive layered with traces of the Age of Discovery, political intrigue, artistic originality, and social transformation.

Chapter 1: The Origin of Hwatu – A Journey Beginning on a Foreigner’s Deck

The story begins in the mid-16th century on the deck of a large Portuguese carrack sailing eastward across the vast ocean. The only relief for weary sailors on the long voyage was a card game called ‘Carta,’ consisting of 48 cards. Derived from the Portuguese word for ‘card,’ this game was essential for easing the boredom of the harsh journey.

In 1543, a Portuguese merchant ship carrying these cards was caught in a typhoon and drifted ashore on Tanegashima, a small island off southern Kyushu, Japan. While this event is famous for introducing the matchlock gun to Japan and altering the Sengoku period’s power dynamics, another cultural seed quietly landed alongside—the ‘Carta.’ The history of this game, born alongside weapons, was a prelude showing that soft power can be as persistent and influential as hard power.

The Carta that landed in Japan soon began its first stage of localization. Known as ‘Tensho Karuta,’ this deck became popular during the Tensho era (1573–1592). While retaining the 48-card structure and the four Latin suits of swords, clubs, cups, and coins, it started incorporating uniquely Japanese artistic sensibilities.

Scholars suggest the card’s journey may have deeper roots. The hypothesis that Carta itself originated from ‘Majo (馬弔),’ a game enjoyed by ancient Persian or Chinese imperial concubines, implies that cultural flows did not simply move west to east but were part of a vast cyclical exchange crossing from east to west and back to the east again.

Chapter 2: Japan’s Hanafuda – The Art Born from Hide-and-Seek with the Shogunate

As ‘Karuta’ spread throughout Japan, it evolved beyond a simple game into a major gambling tool, which alarmed the Edo shogunate prioritizing social stability. The shogunate viewed gambling as a cancer undermining work ethics and social order.

From then on, a long game of hide-and-seek began between the shogunate and gamblers. When the shogunate banned cards with specific images, card makers evaded the law by creating entirely abstract new designs. This cycle of prohibition and innovation paradoxically drove the creative evolution of card design. Political oppression ironically fostered artistic survival strategies.

At the peak of this persistent game of cat and mouse, the early 19th century saw the birth of ‘Hanafuda’ (flower cards). Hanafuda’s design was a brilliant disguise: it completely abandoned numbers and traditional suits, instead featuring flowers and plants symbolizing the twelve months. Appearing as educational cards teaching seasonal changes and nature, they cleverly concealed their gambling purpose.

An interesting historical fact is that the globally renowned video game company Nintendo was founded in 1889 specifically to produce and sell these Hanafuda cards. The company’s rise from small illustrated cards to a digital entertainment empire symbolizes the game’s enduring vitality and commercial potential.

Chapter 3: Flowers Crossing the Korea Strait – Hwatu Lands in Joseon

The scene shifts to late 19th-century Joseon (Korea). Following the 1876 Treaty of Ganghwa, which forcibly opened Korean ports, Japanese settlements formed in port cities like Busan. Hanafuda arrived in Korea mixed in the luggage of Japanese merchants, officials, and workers living in these settlements.

During the Japanese colonial period (1910–1945), Hanafuda’s spread accelerated. Its role was complex: some view the Japanese authorities’ promotion of Hwatu as a “cultural opium” aimed at weakening Korean national consciousness.

However, Koreans did not passively accept this foreign game. They gradually transformed and recreated it in their own way, beginning the process of ‘Koreanization.’

• Name change: The Japanese ‘Hanafuda (花札)’ was renamed with the Sino-Korean characters ‘Hwatu (花鬪).’ The shift from the static “flower cards” to the dynamic “flower fight” symbolically reflects Koreans’ perception of the game.
• Material and design changes: Unlike the thick, layered paper Hanafuda, Korean Hwatu adopted thin, durable plastic for mass production. To reduce costs, a simplified red-dominant design was established, becoming the iconic red back of Hwatu cards today.
• Early records: A 1902 advertisement in the newspaper ‘Hwangseong Sinmun’ listed ‘Hwatu’ among goods for sale, proving Hwatu circulated in Korean society before official colonial rule.

Ultimately, Hwatu remains a complex legacy of colonial rule. It was both a cultural symbol of the ruling power and a cultural battleground where the subjugated people transformed it into their own and breathed new life into it.

Chapter 4: Symbols Within the Hwatu Deck – The Language of Flowers and Legends

Spreading out the 48 Hwatu cards is like facing a painting condensed with Japanese seasonal customs, classical literature, and folk tales. Each month’s representative flora and fauna carries its own story, though much of the original meaning was forgotten or reinterpreted after arriving in Korea. Did you know the figure on the Bright Light card was a real person?

Hwatu 12-Month Symbol Comparison Guide

Chapter 5: Korean Twist – The Birth of Go-Stop

Though Hwatu cards came from Japan, the most popular game Koreans play with Hwatu today, Go-Stop, is a purely Korean creation. Go-Stop derives from the Japanese Hanafuda game ‘Koi-Koi,’ sharing the basic mechanic of pairing cards to score points. However, Go-Stop adds uniquely Korean elements, transforming it into a game of a completely different dimension.

At its core are the original rules named after the game itself: ‘Go’ and ‘Stop.’ These reflect Korea’s “ppalli-ppalli” (hurry-hurry) culture and the compressed growth era’s social atmosphere, favoring bold challenges over stability.

Go-Stop evolved into a more thrilling game through rules absent in Koi-Koi:

• ‘Bak (縛)’ system: Rules like ‘Pibak’ and ‘Gwangbak’ curb an opponent’s dominance and enable comebacks, maximizing game dynamism.
• ‘Ppeok’ and ‘Seolsa’: Dramatic elements turning crises into opportunities, mirroring life’s ups and downs.
• Regional rules: Variations like Jeolla’s ‘Sambong’ or Gyeongsang’s unique scoring show how deeply Hwatu is rooted in local Korean cultures.

Meanwhile, the popular modern myth that plant breeder Dr. Woo Jang-choon invented Go-Stop is an interesting folk tale. Though historically untrue, such stories reflect a cultural desire to claim this Japanese-origin game as fully Korean by linking it to a national figure.

Chapter 6: The Double-Edged Cards – Hwatu’s Light and Shadow in Korean Society

In Korean society, Hwatu has two extreme faces. On one side, it is a warm tool for communication; on the other, a shadow leading to ruin through addiction.

Playing Go-Stop for 100 won per point during holidays is recognized as a form of ’temporary entertainment,’ breaking down generational barriers and fostering communication. But crossing that line, Hwatu can become a terrifying addiction trap. Institutions like the Korea Center on Gambling Problems Prevention and Healing emphasize that gambling addiction, including Hwatu, is not a matter of personal willpower but a disease requiring professional treatment and social intervention.

This duality of Hwatu is consistently portrayed in popular culture, reflecting the spirit of the times:

• Hwatu Taryeong: A folk song popular during the Japanese occupation, using the twelve-month Hwatu images to express the sorrow and emptiness of a nation under occupation.
• Film “Tazza”: The 2006 movie depicts the Hwatu table as a microcosm of human desire, betrayal, and destruction, raising social awareness about the dangers of Hwatu gambling.

Conclusion

The journey of Hwatu is like an epic saga. From a Portuguese sailor’s pastime to a Japanese art form, then transforming into a Korean national game. I vividly remember clapping plastic cards with my family during holidays, sharing laughter. Yet, playing ‘Shin Matgo’ alone on a smartphone lacks the sound of cards and the tension of reading each other’s expressions, which I miss.

• Hwatu is a product of international exchange: Its history flows from Portuguese ‘Carta’ to Japanese ‘Hanafuda’ to Korean ‘Hwatu.’
• Go-Stop is a result of Korean creativity: Adding unique rules like ‘Go/Stop,’ ‘Bak,’ and ‘Ppeok,’ it surpasses the original game.
• Hwatu remains a living culture: Bearing dual roles as a communication tool and an addiction risk, it seeks new adaptations in the digital age.

Have you discovered the deep stories contained in each Hwatu card through this article? How about gathering with your family next holiday to enjoy the game while discussing its symbols and history?