When people meet other people, there can be a very uneasy atmosphere. They sit gazing around and try to read the other’s mind. In this situation, most people try to make the situation more comfortable. A game can be a very useful tool in this situation. People can enjoy getting to know each other.

However, recreational games have a fixed form. For this, people are moving, running, laughing and enjoying themselves under the fixed game program. It is very formal, typical and often meaningless. To enjoy themselves, they need a more self-regulated way of getting to know each other.

It is time to change the former game into new non-formal games! Those games that people play were only meant to fill up time and only used on certain occasions. These games have become used daily, popularization, personal, and above all self-enjoyable. However, the game did not become the only part of the program, but meant to be the independent form used regardless of times and places.

Many kinds of games have already spread out and become familiar to the public. However, with individuals’ characteristics gone, the games are full of simple convenience, and fun due to personal taste, which is not same from past times. The games now have new meaning as well as those things.

At first, college students find the games full of expected and common things. For example, the games can be shocking, such as the game of death, frying fan and so on. In the old days, Korean students were serious about social issues. They were arguing and worrying about social problems. When they drank alcohol, their mind was filled with concerns.

However, these days, many of those social problems that they were worried about have disappeared. The students these days have equanimity about social issues, even though they are stressed due to concerns about their future employment.

Just as people mention that the end of the college life is employment, they can mention that the start of college life is ‘game’. On entering a college, no one knows each other. Therefore, they try to become friends and create life long intimacies with others. In the orientation for the freshmen, they do many games, group activities, indoor and outdoor games. In addition, they are experiencing many lessons from their membership training, leadership training and so on. During these programs, college students will play many kinds of games. 

Of course, many students are doing other games, Internet games, billiards etc. However, those games are concentrated on male students. Some female students can take part in the game mainly centered on male students. On the other hand, no one can be the one for those games.  As you can see the external sides of the games, they seem to be very simple and meaningless.

In spite of their external looks, they are very helpful to accumulate special feelings such as friendship and solidarity. That is, the games become the center of tool that makes people be friendly.


Mass communications have huge power to attract interests of the public. Therefore, they are enough to spread the games over the public. Specifically, many TV programs chose the universal games to the public as their main materials. For instances, there are many cases.

The program, ‘The Saturday strongly recommended’ of MBC has two main games, ‘Image survival’ and ‘A master of quiz’, the second series of ‘Unlimited challenge’. ‘Image survival’ is picking out the members of those games for many kinds of games and activities. Finally, surviving by oneself, someone will be the best member who has the best image. Similarly, ‘The six heroines’ of ‘Happy Sunday’ of KBS is using the game, ‘Let’s trap the mouse’

The TV viewer think watching the entertainment programs is their leisure activity. The games in the specific entertainment programs get familiar to the viewer and give fun to them.

Nevertheless, those TV programs cannot be the real pastime activity. Those are too meaningless, and have too harsh punishments. In some programs, whenever they do wrong action, a guard dipper hits their heads. Most of the programs go mainly on the air in the time everyone can watch. Thus, broadcasters should consider their influential power.

Do you remember last 2002 Korea and Japan World Cup? Nationals put that vehicle makes together. Likewise, Torino Winter Olympic and World Baseball Classic are same. In former days, people went crazy over yes or no of victory and defeat. When they run mad after of the day games, after the game was finished, they were set on only consequences.

However, in these days, the nationals are being together for the sports game contrasted the last time. Additionally, someone said that. Not finishing only with the just sports is Korean sports patriotism, and someone else talks about the humorous explanation of WBC. That is, WBC means World Best Korea.

From now, the game has acted on the ways of pastime, amusement and making people be more intimate. For this, the games are more ordinary and familiar to people. Such as using the game for recreation in the past, recreation is thought to earnest concept.

Lee Jae-sun, the professor of Konkuk Univ. Welfare School, talked about why people used recreation simply and formally. He said people couldn’t freely enjoy pastime because of lack of foundations. Thus, people made playing time artificially. As times went by, the meaning of recreation was changed many times. Now, recreation has three fields, commercial recreation, welfare recreation and therapy recreation. He also said that if people need to have some money, people could enjoy their pastime and comforts.

That is, without money, they cannot have the benefits. Ultimately, the recreation, as notion of welfare recreation, has to be important.

The former games were so passive and fixed. The real meaning of recreation cannot be expressed. However, in this society, there are increasing free time and variety.  Anyone can lead the games and enjoy oneself..

Above all, the people living apart from each other can achieve piling up connectedness.
Is it realizing the meaning of recreation?