The Past, Present, and Future of Hwatu: Beyond the Controversy of Gambling and Japanese Color, to Localization and Globalization

Abstract

Hwatu was a negative image in that the cards had Japanese-style picture and strong gambling character. On the other hand, Hwatu has maintained its status as a national game to promote friendship in leisure and daily life. Recently, art therapy using Hwatu has been actively performed to prevent dementia in the elderly. Hwatu, which has shown such a multifaceted aspect, is trying to show us a different side in the 21st century. While attempts are being made to localize it by combining with the nature and cultural properties of each region in Korea, it is now approaching people all over the world impressively through works such as the movie Minari. After successful localization, Hwatu is now in the stage of dreaming of globalization. In this paper, the past and present of Korean Hwatu were examined, and the future possibilities were explored. Due to the nature of the Hwatu, various research data and methods such as literature review, one-on-one interview with research participants, and Internet data collection were mixed to understand the overall picture.