The game is also called cheoksa (척사; 擲柶) or sahui (사희; 柶戲) in Hanjaeo(Sino-Korean vocabulary).

While its exact origin remains uncertain, evidence of yunnori has been documented in various historical records spanning Korea, China, and Japan.

Petroglyphs bearing records of yunnori during the Joseon era were discovered in the mountains of the Korean Peninsula and Manchuria.

Surprisingly, yut carvings were also found in a Buddhist temple and were most likely designated prayer sites.

Historians draw connections between yunnori and a Chinese chess game called chupu/jeopo from the 1400s to 1860s, highlighting similarities in their four-token systems.

Initially, yunnori originated as a religious ritual embodying yin-yang principles and the 28 asterisms.

Aligned with East Asian astronomy, the game's structure reflected the heavens, earth, four seasons, and the length of the day.

Yunnori sticks, with flat and round sides, symbolize yin and yang, while the game's leftward direction mirrors the counterclockwise movement of the Big Dipper stars.

The incorporation of yut in tombstones reinforces its celestial symbolism, expressing wishes to the heavens.

Yunnori involves five key moves – do, gae, geol, yut, and mo – according to Ilyeon's interpretation, representing the five tribes of the Gojoseon era.

Geol was possibly the king's tribe, while the others symbolized four livestock animals – cows, dogs, pigs, and horses (Park et al., 2013).

There are small tokens (marks) used for the game, called mal (말, literally a "horse").

However, when landing on one of the big stations (in the corner and the centre), the team can choose to take the shorter way should they wish to.

Given its rich history and symbolism, Yutnori has evolved into a popular traditional game among Korean families and friends, particularly during Seollal and Jeongwol Daeboreum – the first and fifteenth days of the new Lunar Year.

Traditional beliefs associated with Yunnori extend to agricultural predictions, as documented in the Records of Seasonal Festivities around the Capital (Yeolyangsesigi) playing Yunnori past the fifteenth day of the lunar calendar would not ensure a fruitful year ("Seasonal Customs and Traditional Recreation," 2020).

The Australian film and theatre group, Yut Art, takes its names from the game as a result of the excitement and crowd participation associated with its activities.

[3] The mid-Joseon writer Gim Munpyo described the Yut board as symbolising the circle of the cosmos, with the North Star in the centre, surrounded by 28 constellations.

[4] According to the Dongguksesigi (literally meaning a Book on Eastern Country's Annual Observances), a book listing 22 Korean annual observances, on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day, there was a game of fortune-telling good and bad with a hand-thrown out of yut.

[6] As a result, there are 64 fortune tellings in total, and in each case, matters to be careful about behavior and the answer for the year's luck are set.