In the new episodes, the game has captured the attention of fans and has proven to be one of the most difficult and adrenaline-pumping challenges of the entire series
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| Image Credit: Netflix |
The long-awaited second season of Squid Game has renewed the challenges that participants are forced to face by inserting one of the most famous traditional games of the entire Korean peninsula, namely Gonggi, the game seen in the fourth of the new episodes that landed a few hours ago on Netflix. Naturally, Gonggi, like the games that preceded it, quickly turns into a deadly challenge, proving to be one of the most difficult competitions on a manual level ever seen in Squid Game. Although the mechanics of the game remain substantially unchanged, it includes five different levels of increasing difficulty with the player being forced to start over if he makes a mistake.
In short, Gonggi is undoubtedly one of the most feared obstacles by the competitors of this new edition of the Squid Game. Although its origins are not yet clearly identified, the game appears to have been part of Korean culture for several centuries. A description of the game in the Ojuyeonmunjangjeonsango, a book written during the reign of King Heonjong from 1834 to 1849, describes Gonggi as one of the most popular games among children, who would play it by collecting round stones. This fact shows that Gonggi is older than we might imagine, however in the series it is referred to as a “women’s game.”
But why is it considered such? Although there is no single answer, the answer lies in the family values of Chinese Confucian doctrines established in Korean society during the Joseon Dynasty that began in the 14th century. These support traditional roles with men responsible for heavy labor while women are expected to fill roles considered typically feminine such as wives, mothers, and housekeepers. Encouraged to take care of the household and not to take part in physically demanding activities reserved for men, Korean women would have found fun in some games of skill and manual ability carried out with the use of simple stones found in their respective courtyards.
In short, the Gonggi seen in Squid Game could hide an origin linked to the conception of women perpetuated over the centuries in traditional Korean society. A similar origin should also be at the base of the game known as Neolttwigi – also considered typically feminine – which requires two women to stand at the ends of a board placed on a lever and then jump and push the other person into the air. According to tradition, this game would have been invented to be able to look beyond the walls of their respective homes, since in traditional Korea women were rarely allowed to leave their accommodations.
Source: Screen Rant