Chariot Battle

[Anchor Lead]

The Korean "chajeon nori," or Chariot Battle, has a long history, but it's hardly ever played nowadays because it requires hundreds of players. Students from a university in Korea recently re-enacted this traditional game. Take a look.

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Two teams, one donning red uniforms and the other blue, slowly move to traditional tunes. They create a gigantic taegeuk pattern. The chief, riding a wagon, encourages the teams to stage a fierce battle and the game begins. This is "Andong chajeon nori," or the chariot battle, Korea's national intangible cultural asset 24.

[Soundbite] Noh Woo-chan(Student) : "I didn't feel like playing at first, because I didn't know anything about the game. But I really enjoyed playing it with my classmates."

Chajeon nori originated from battles that were fought in Andong during the later Three Kingdoms Period. Nowadays, it is hard to see, because it requires hundreds of players. One Korean university recently re-enacted the game in its original form to mark the 70th anniversary of its founding. The game brought together some two thousand students and professors.

[Soundbite] Kwon Tae-hwan(President, Andong National Univ.) : "It was an opportunity to remind students about traditional culture and cultural preservation."

These young people breathed new life into the ancient game representing the spirit of solidarity and merriness of Korean ancestors.