Understanding K-Drama: Mahjong

The game Mahjong has played a part in several dramas lately. It's the game that Kim Hee Ae's character plays with those who control the Seo Arts Foundation where she works. That game is the key to her keeping her job and influence there. It's a favorite of the foundation's chairman.

A mahjong game was also a strategy in a recent episode of "Empress Ki." Seungnyang, played by Ha Ji Won, arranged the game so she could distract her former allies Bayan and Tal Tal from the fact that she was transporting the treasure they were all after. She temporarily excuses herself to safely move the treasure and is back before the game winds down. She claims to be a poor mahjong player but she mastered the strategic move of claiming the treasure.

Mahjong was also featured in a few episodes of "You Who Came From The Stars." Kim Soo Hyun's character Do Min Joon has been playing the game for decades, or is it centuries. Most of the people he plays with are older. And while playing a round he even runs into a man who claims to have played with him decades ago. To escape detection he has to pretend to be his own grandson.

But what is mahjong exactly?

Mahjong is a game of skill that originated in China. Some say Confucius created the game around 500 BC, but no one knows for sure. It's usually played with four players, although there are three-player versions. There is an element of chance involved in winning but strategy and calculation skills are crucial.

Variations of the game are found in Korea and China. Mahjong has been played throughout Asia for centuries, so it's realistic to assume that Empress Ki played it with her allies and even her enemies. It was also very popular in the 1930s through the 50s so it's fitting that Do Min Joon played it when his lawyer friend was a young man.

K-dramas are not the first time the game was featured in popular culture. There are a few manga and anime that feature mahjong. Movies made in Hong Kong often feature mahjong scenes and there are even "mahjong movies."

Some devotees of the game are worried that it has become less popular in the last decades, as young people prefer online gaming. Do you think the recent incidence of mahjong in k-dramas will change that?