Sports of South Korea
Asia
Originating in South Korea
Sports whose history and codification began here.
Badugi
From South Korea
Korean draw lowball poker — best four-card hand with all four cards different suits and different ranks.
Hapkido
From South Korea
Korean martial art of joint-locks, throws and pressure-point striking derived from daitō-ryū aikijujutsu.
Janggi
From South Korea
Korean chess — pieces sit on the intersections of a 9×10 board and the general lives in a nine-point palace.
PUBG: Battlegrounds
From South Korea
The battle royale that started the genre — 100 players parachute onto shrinking island; scavenge weapons + gear; last player/squad standing wins. Brendan 'PlayerUnknown' Greene created it 2017 based on Battle Royale novel/film. Spawned Fortnite, Warzone, Apex Legends. PUBG Global Championship + PUBG Mobile Global.
Ssireum
From South Korea
Traditional Korean wrestling. 2 wrestlers grip each other's SATBA (fabric belt) around waist + thigh, attempting to throw opponent to ground. Ancient — documented in Goguryeo tomb murals 4th century. UNESCO Immaterial Cultural Heritage 2018 (jointly with North Korea — first such joint designation). Modern professional league Korea Ssireum Association.
Taekwondo
From South Korea
Korean striking art defined by fast, high, spinning kicks — Olympic sport since 2000 with electronic-scored sparring.
Yut Nori
From South Korea
Traditional Korean board game played especially during LUNAR NEW YEAR (Seollal). 4 wooden STICKS (yut) tossed as dice; landing curved/flat determines move (Do 1, Gae 2, Geol 3, Yut 4, Mo 5, Back-do reverse). Race 4 pieces around cross-shaped board. Origins Three Kingdoms period Korea. UNESCO recognized cultural heritage.
Widely played in South Korea
Apex Legends
From United States
Hero-based battle royale by Respawn Entertainment (Titanfall studio) — 20 squads of 3 drop onto shrinking map; each 'Legend' has unique abilities. Innovated with SLIDE MOVEMENT + PING COMMUNICATION SYSTEM. ALGS (Apex Legends Global Series) is $5M+/year esports circuit. 100M+ players since 2019 launch.
Archery
From United Kingdom
Precision sport of shooting arrows at a target from a set distance — competitive events include recurve (Olympic), compound, barebow, and field archery.
Artistic Gymnastics
From Germany
Olympic sport in which gymnasts perform short choreographed routines on apparatus — men on 6 events (floor, pommel, rings, vault, parallel bars, high bar), women on 4 (vault, uneven bars, beam, floor) — judged on execution and difficulty.
Artistic Swimming
From Germany
Olympic aquatic sport blending swimming, dance, and gymnastics — athletes perform elaborate choreographed routines to music (solo, duet, team of 8-10) in pool with judged difficulty + artistic impression + execution. Renamed from Synchronized Swimming 2017. Historically women's-only; men added 2024.
Baccarat
From Italy
The Bond-favoured casino card game — bet on Player, Banker or Tie, aiming for a two- or three-card total closest to 9.
Badminton
From India
The fastest racket sport in the world — hit a feathered shuttlecock over a 1.55 m net using a light racket; win by driving the shuttle to the floor of your opponent's court.
Baseball
From United States
9-a-side bat-and-ball sport played on a diamond — the batter tries to hit a pitched ball into fair territory and circle the bases; the team with the most runs after 9 innings wins.
Bobsleigh
From Switzerland
Winter sliding sport in which teams of 2 or 4 push a streamlined sled down a twisting refrigerated ice track, reaching speeds of 150+ km/h.
Bouldering
From France
Free-climbing discipline on short (typically <5m) rock walls or artificial holds without ropes — solved as short intense 'problems' requiring extreme power, technique, and creative movement, protected only by crash pads below.
Bulls and Cows
From United Kingdom
Two-player code-breaking guessing game (or single-player vs computer) — one player picks a secret 4-digit number with unique digits; the other guesses, receiving 'Bulls' (correct digit + position) and 'Cows' (correct digit, wrong position) feedback until deducing the secret code.
Catan
From Germany
Modern German-style strategy board game for 3-4 players, in which players collect resources by rolling dice on their hex-tile settlements, then trade and build to reach 10 victory points first.
Codenames
From Czech Republic
Modern Czech party word-association game (2015) — two teams of spymasters give one-word clues to lead teammates to identify their agents on a 5×5 grid of code names, while avoiding opponents' agents and the assassin; 2016 Spiel des Jahres winner.
Counter-Strike
From United States
Legendary tactical first-person shooter esport — 5 vs 5 team-based competitive gameplay pitting Terrorists (T) vs Counter-Terrorists (CT) in objective-based rounds on maps like Dust II, Mirage, Inferno.
Curling
From United Kingdom
A Scottish winter sport in which teams of four slide granite stones down a sheet of ice, sweeping ahead of the stone to control its path.
Diabolo
From China
Ancient Chinese juggling skill toy — spool-shaped device balanced + spun on string held between 2 hand sticks; tricks include spinning acceleration, tosses to great heights, 'suicide' releases, whip-catches, and choreographed multi-diabolo routines. Popular Chinese cultural performance + modern juggling sport.
Diving
From Sweden
Aquatic sport in which competitors jump or leap from a springboard (3 m) or platform (10 m), execute acrobatic manoeuvres in the air, and enter the water with a minimum of splash for judged scores.
Dragon Boat Racing
From China
Ancient Chinese team paddling sport (2,000+ year history) — long narrow decorated boat with 20 paddlers + 1 drummer + 1 steerer race over 200-2000m. Traditional Duanwu Festival ritual + modern global sport with world championships since 1995.
EA Sports FC
From Canada
The world's most successful football (soccer) simulation — annual release by EA Sports. Renamed from FIFA to EA Sports FC in 2023 after EA-FIFA partnership ended. Ultimate Team mode dominates gameplay; over 150M lifetime FIFA/FC players; largest sports simulation esport.
Escape Rooms
From Japan
Live team-based puzzle experience — 2-8 players 'locked' in themed room, solve interconnected puzzles + riddles to escape within 60 minutes. Originated Japan 2007 (SCRAP's 'Real Escape Game'); global explosion 2012+; 10,000+ facilities worldwide by 2020s; $2B+ industry.
Fencing
From Italy
Olympic combat sport with three weapon disciplines (foil, épée, sabre) — two fencers on a 14m × 1.5m piste score touches with electronically-scored bladed weapons under strict right-of-way (foil/sabre) or open (épée) rules.
Field Hockey
From United Kingdom
Eleven-a-side stick-and-ball team sport played on artificial turf — flick, push and hit a hard ball into a caged goal using a J-shaped stick.
Figure Skating
From United Kingdom
Winter sport where skaters perform jumps, spins, step sequences and lifts on ice, judged on technical difficulty and artistic execution across four disciplines.
Football
From United Kingdom
The world's most popular team sport — two sides of eleven aim to score more goals than the opponent using any part of the body except the arms and hands.
Fortnite
From United States
Free-to-play battle-royale shooter in which 100 players parachute onto a shrinking island, gather weapons and materials, build defensive structures, and fight until only one player or squad remains.
Go
From China
Ancient East Asian board game — surround more territory than your opponent on a 19×19 grid of intersections.
Golf
From United Kingdom
Individual precision sport played on an 18-hole course — hit a small ball from a tee into a series of cups using the fewest possible strokes.
Hanafuda
From Japan
Traditional Japanese playing cards. 48 cards divided into 12 SUITS = 12 MONTHS, each with 4 cards depicting flowers/plants for that month. Origin 1600s Japan (during Tokugawa shogunate). MANY GAMES: Koi-Koi (2 players), Hachi-Hachi (3 players), Go-Stop (Korean Hwatu). NINTENDO founded 1889 as hanafuda card maker.
Hearthstone
From United States
Digital collectible card game by Blizzard set in Warcraft universe — 1v1 duels between 30-card decks; heroes with unique powers + game modes (Standard, Wild, Battlegrounds, Arena, Duels, Mercenaries). 100M+ players lifetime; pioneering digital CCG that inspired hundreds of imitators.
Hopscotch
From Italy
Ancient children's game found across world cultures in which players toss a marker (stone/beanbag) into numbered squares chalked on the ground, then hop through the pattern without stepping on lines or the marker.
Judo
From Japan
Japanese grappling art of throws, pins, chokes and arm-locks — win by ippon (perfect throw) or accumulate waza-ari.
Kabaddi
From India
A high-tempo South Asian contact sport in which a solo 'raider' crosses into enemy territory to tag defenders and return home — all in a single breath.
Kendo
From Japan
Modern Japanese martial art descended from samurai swordsmanship — two combatants in armor (bogu) score points by striking prescribed target areas (head, wrist, torso, throat) with bamboo swords (shinai) while shouting the target name (kiai).
Lacrosse
From Canada
Fast-paced team sport played with sticks with mesh nets used to catch, carry, pass, and shoot a rubber ball into the opposing team's goal — includes field (10v10), box (6v6 indoor), and sixes (6v6) variants.
League of Legends
From United States
Free-to-play 5v5 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) in which two teams of five champions each fight to destroy the opposing team's Nexus at the base of a three-lane map called Summoner's Rift.
Luge
From Switzerland
Winter Olympic sport where athletes lie feet-first on a small sled + race down an icy track at 130-150 km/h — timed to thousandths of a second; individual singles, doubles, team relay, sprint events.
Magic: The Gathering
From United States
The world's first trading card game (TCG) — 2+ players build 60-card 'decks' (Modern/Legacy) or 100-card commander decks from ~25,000+ unique cards, then battle by casting spells + summoning creatures to reduce opponent's life total from 20 to 0.
Mahjong
From China
Chinese four-player tile game — arrange 14 tiles into four sets and a pair before your opponents, using draws, discards, and locked melds.
Minecraft
From Sweden
Sandbox video game in which players explore a procedurally-generated 3D world of textured cubes, mine resources, craft items, build structures, and survive against mobs in a variety of game modes.
Modern Pentathlon
From Sweden
Multi-discipline Olympic sport combining 5 events over one day — pistol shooting, fencing, swimming (200m), equestrian show jumping, and cross-country running (3.2km) — designed for an idealized 19th-century military officer.
NBA 2K
From United States
Definitive basketball simulation by Visual Concepts (2K Games) — annual release; 5-on-5 NBA basketball with realistic physics, all 30 NBA teams + international leagues. NBA 2K League (2K esports) partnered with real NBA — first sports league to own official esports league. MyTeam + MyCareer flagship modes.
Nonogram
From Japan
Grid logic puzzle — fill cells based on numeric row/column clues to reveal hidden picture. Invented independently 1987 by Non Ishida (Japanese graphic editor) + Tetsuya Nishio (Japanese puzzler). Made global by Nintendo's PICROSS video games (1995+). 100M+ Picross games sold; standard NYT Sunday Games feature.
Overwatch
From United States
5-vs-5 team-based hero shooter by Blizzard — 40+ unique heroes with distinct abilities across 3 roles (Tank, Damage, Support); map-based objective modes (control, escort, hybrid, push, flashpoint). Overwatch League 2018-2023; now OWCS competitive circuit.
Pachinko
From Japan
Japanese vertical mechanical gambling arcade game — players fire small steel balls into a pinball-like maze of pins; balls falling into scoring pockets win more balls, exchangeable for prizes (technically bypassing Japan's anti-gambling laws).
Pandemic
From United States
Iconic COOPERATIVE modern board game by Matt Leacock (Z-Man Games, 2008) — 2-4 players work TOGETHER as disease specialists racing to cure 4 diseases before outbreaks destroy the world. Revolutionized cooperative board gaming; Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 (2015) is BoardGameGeek's #1 game of all time. 8M+ copies sold.
Pokémon (Video Games)
From Japan
Legendary Japanese role-playing video game franchise (1996-present) by Game Freak/Nintendo — players capture, train, and battle 1000+ fictional creatures ('Pokémon') across turn-based RPG adventures — best-selling media franchise in history ($150+ billion revenue).
Pokémon Trading Card Game
From Japan
World's #2 collectible card game — 2 players battle using decks of 60 Pokémon + Trainer cards. Launched Japan 1996; global explosion via Pokémon franchise; 43+ billion cards printed by 2023. Pokémon TCG World Championships since 2004; Charizard rare cards sold for $420,000+; annual sales $1B+.
Pool
From United States
Cue sport played on a 7-9 ft pocketed table with 15 numbered object balls and a white cue ball; primary variants are 8-Ball (stripes vs solids) and 9-Ball (lowest to highest).
Racquetball
From United States
Fast indoor court sport played with a stringed racquet and a hollow rubber ball on a fully-enclosed 40×20×20 ft court — every wall (including ceiling) is in play.
Reversi / Othello
From United Kingdom
Abstract strategy game invented 1883 in England — 2 players place black/white discs on 8×8 board; flanking opponent's discs converts them to your color. Simple rules ('A minute to learn... a lifetime to master'); huge in Japan; WOF World Othello Championship since 1977; computer-solved for perfect draw (2023).
Rhythmic Gymnastics
From Russia
Women's Olympic sport combining dance, ballet, and gymnastics with hand-apparatus (rope, hoop, ball, clubs, ribbon) — performed on a 13×13m floor to music, judged on difficulty and artistry.
Rock Climbing
From United Kingdom
Adventure sport in which climbers ascend natural or artificial rock walls using strength, technique, and rope safety systems in disciplines from bouldering to trad multi-pitch.
Rock Paper Scissors
From China
World's most-played hand game — 2+ players simultaneously make 1 of 3 hand shapes (Rock, Paper, or Scissors). Rock crushes Scissors; Scissors cuts Paper; Paper covers Rock. Origins in ancient China (~200 BC 'shoushiling'); modernized Japan Edo era (jan-ken); global dispute-resolution tool. World RPS Society championships since 2002; $10K+ prizes.
Rocket League
From United States
'Soccer with rocket-powered cars' — Psyonix's beloved vehicular football; 3-vs-3 teams driving cars with jumps + boost + aerial flips to hit oversized ball into goals. Massive esports scene (RLCS); simple concept + deep skill ceiling; considered greatest hybrid sports game ever.
Rubik's Cube (Speedcubing)
From Hungary
3D combination puzzle invented by Ernő Rubik (Hungary, 1974) — 6-sided cube with 3×3×3 rotating faces of colored stickers; speedcubers solve it in under 5 seconds using memorized algorithms; WCA-sanctioned world championships since 2003.
Sepak Takraw
From Malaysia
Southeast Asia's answer to volleyball — three players per side vault into acrobatic scissor-kicks over a badminton-height net, using only their feet, knees, chest and head.
Shogi
From Japan
Traditional Japanese chess variant played on a 9×9 board with 20 pieces per side, unique for the 'drop rule' allowing captured pieces to re-enter play under their new owner.
Shooting Sports
From Germany
Olympic precision shooting disciplines using rifles, pistols, and shotguns at stationary or moving targets — scored by proximity to bullseye (rifle/pistol) or successful clay hits (shotgun) over multiple rounds.
Sic Bo
From China
Ancient Chinese dice casino game — three dice shaken in a covered container; players bet on possible outcomes (specific numbers, sums 4-17, small/big totals, triples, doubles). Payouts range 1:1 to 180:1 based on outcome probability.
Skeleton
From Switzerland
Winter Olympic sport where athletes race head-first, prone (belly-down) on a small sled down icy tracks at 125-140 km/h — the only sliding sport where athletes go head-first; single-runs, 4-run cumulative time format.
Snakes and Ladders
From India
Universal children's board game — 2-4 players race tokens from square 1 to 100 by rolling dice; ladders shortcut up, snakes drop you down. Originally ancient Indian MOKSHA PATAM (~2nd c BC) with SPIRITUAL/KARMA themes teaching virtue vs vice. British Victorian adaptation 1892; Milton Bradley 'Chutes and Ladders' 1943.
Snowboarding
From United States
Winter sport where riders descend snow slopes on a single board with feet in fixed bindings — competed in freestyle (halfpipe, slopestyle, big air) and racing (parallel, snowboard cross) disciplines.
Speed Skating
From Netherlands
Ice-skating race sport on a 400 m double-lane oval; distances from 500 m sprint to 10,000 m endurance with skaters swapping lanes each lap.
StarCraft II
From United States
Sci-fi real-time strategy (RTS) by Blizzard — 1v1 duels between Terran (humans), Zerg (aliens), Protoss (psi-race); build economy + army + tech in minutes. Considered greatest RTS + one of purest competitive esports; dominated by Korean pros. GSL Korea = most prestigious league.
Super Mario Bros.
From Japan
Legendary Nintendo platformer series starring Mario the plumber — jump, run, and battle enemies through the Mushroom Kingdom to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser; defined the platform game genre.
Swimming
From United Kingdom
Aquatic racing sport contested in a pool over set distances in four legal strokes — freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly — plus medley events.
Table Tennis
From United Kingdom
Fast-paced indoor racket sport played on a 9-foot table divided by a low net — hit a lightweight ball with a rubber paddle before it bounces twice.
Tangram
From China
Ancient Chinese dissection puzzle — 7 flat geometric pieces (tans: 5 triangles, 1 square, 1 parallelogram) arranged to form thousands of shapes. Origin ~1815 Qing Dynasty; global craze 1810s-1820s (Napoleon owned one in exile); classic educational puzzle teaching geometry.
Ten-Pin Bowling
From United States
Precision sport in which players roll a heavy ball down a 60-foot wooden lane to knock down 10 pins arranged in a triangle at the far end, scoring across 10 frames.
Tetris
From Russia
Legendary Soviet-designed puzzle game (1984) in which players rotate + place falling tetromino shapes into complete horizontal lines to clear them — one of the best-selling video games ever with 520+ million copies sold across all versions.
Texas Hold'em Poker
From United States
World's most popular poker variant — 2-10 players receive 2 hole cards + share 5 community cards. Best 5-card poker hand wins pot. Exploded globally via 2003 WSOP Chris Moneymaker win + online poker boom + televised broadcasts. WSOP Main Event $10K buy-in draws 10,000+ players; $10M+ prizes.
Tuho
From China
Ancient East Asian throwing game — players throw arrows/sticks into narrow-necked jar or pot from distance. Originated CHINA (Zhou Dynasty ~1046 BCE); spread to KOREA + JAPAN. In Korea, popular ROYAL COURT + folk game; still played traditional holidays. Similar to horseshoes / cornhole conceptually. Elegant, minimalist, cultural preservation focus.
Valorant
From United States
5-vs-5 tactical first-person shooter esport by Riot Games — combines CS-style bomb defusal with hero-shooter abilities (23 unique 'Agents' with signature powers), on maps designed for precise gunplay + tactical utility use.
Volleyball
From United States
6-a-side team sport where players use hands and forearms to send a ball over a high net, aiming to ground it on the opposing side within three touches.
Weightlifting
From Greece
Olympic sport in which athletes lift a loaded barbell overhead in two competition lifts: the Snatch (single motion from floor to overhead) and Clean & Jerk (two-motion lift to shoulders then overhead).
Xiangqi
From China
Ancient Chinese strategy board game played on a 9×10 grid with a central 'river' — pieces move on line intersections; goal is to checkmate the enemy General.
Yo-yo
From Philippines
Ancient skill toy consisting of an axle-connected pair of disks with string wrapped around axle — spun down/up with wrist flicks, modern competitive scene includes tricks like 'sleeping,' 'walking the dog,' complex string manipulations in 5 competition divisions.
Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game
From Japan
World's #3 collectible card game — 2 players duel with decks of 40-60 monster/spell/trap cards. Based on manga/anime by Kazuki Takahashi (1996). Launched Japan 1999; global anime boom 2001+. Guinness Record most sold TCG (2011): 25.1+ billion cards sold; Blue-Eyes White Dragon + Dark Magician iconic; Konami owns rights.