Today the world is as globalized as it could be - - yet we struggle to find meaning in our daily existence.

03 August 2011

Harabuji Park Revisited

There's a little park out of Jongro 3-ga Station where all the "harabuji" (grandpa) gather to play "baduk". It is a rather simple game. Two players take turns placing one black or white stone on a 19x19 grid. The game ends when one player has tallied up more territory, or one surrenders. How difficult can it be? Very difficult actually. I started learning 1 week ago from my "hyung." As he was teaching me the basics of the game, I realized how much more complex baduk really was. One's strategic arsenal involves making connections, severing the opponent's route, respecting mutual spaces, making "houses", avoiding and welcoming death, invading the opponent's territory, reducing the opponent's territory, entrapping, and making sacrifices. At the end of the week, I couldn't even put a dent into his game, but I finally won one game yesterday... against his 7 year-old son. We were neck and neck, both acquiring territory across the board, until 1 stone changed the entire dynamic of the game. Call it the game-changer, but sometimes that 1 stone is all it takes to change everything.

enjoi :)

Harabuji #1

Harabuji #2

Harabuji #3

Harabuji #4

FE2 R6-27
(taken Sept. 2010)

"A coward dies a thousand deaths, the brave die but once."
-Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare



pax

2 comments:

christina said...

man, i'll never forget ajushi park! i was terrified! hahaha... but nice pics! my favorite is the grandpa with the mustache and cane... so classay! :) keep it up! i miss your photos!!

Jamie said...

i really like the simplicity of this post phil. great photos as always.

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