[Korean Culture & Language] Squid Game/What is ‘ddakji’?

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A mysterious man approaches Seong Gi-hun in the subway station and asks if he wants to play a game of ddakji for money. And that’s how Gi-hun is introduced to the diabolical survival game that drastically changes his life.

But what is ddakji? What does it mean?

Ddakji (딱지) is an interesting word. Its most basic meaning is ‘the crust that forms when blood, pus, or other discharge, as from a wound, hardens.’ 

That’s why ‘ko-ddakji’ means ‘booger.’ 

Korean	코	딱지
sound	ko	ddakji
meaning	nose	crust

And when we’re angry, we say “hwa-ddakji na!”

Korean	화	딱지	나!
sound	hwa	ddakji	na!
meaning	anger	crust	is forming!

And when a man gets married, he can say, “chong-gak ddakji ddet-da!”

Korean	총각	딱지	뗐다!
sound	chong-gak	ddakji	ddet-da!
meaning	bachelor	crust(?)	removed!

A less common usage of the word 딱지 refers to ‘the hard shell of animals such as turtles and crabs.’

A shell is hard to the touch. So is a crust. In other words, they’re both ddak-ddak:

Korean	딱	딱
sound	ddak	ddak
meaning	hard to the touch

A ddak-ji (딱지) is ddak-ddak (딱딱). 

Now let’s look at a woodpecker.

A woodpecker is a ddak-dda-gu-ri:

Korean	딱	따구리
sound	ddak	dda-gu-ri
meaning	woodpecker

A woodpecker is a ddak-dda-gu-ri because it likes to peck on wood, which is hard (ddak-ddak).

Also, the sound of pecking on wood goes, “ddak-ddak-ddak-ddak!”

Yes, “ddak” is the sound of a hard object hitting another hard object. It’s the sound of finger snapping; English says “SNAP!” while Koreans say “DDAK!”

And that’s the sound of the ddakji game; it’s the sound a paper tile makes when you slam it down on another paper tile: “DDAK!”

And it goes on and on. “Ddak” is a linguistic gem in the Korean language. It’s hidden in all sorts of words and expressions, adding zest to our speech.