Korean Hwatu

‘Royal Gold’ Korean Hwatu

Hwatu cards are the Korean version of Japanese Flower Cards. “Hwatu” literally means “flower cards”. There are 48 cards in the game, broken up into twelve months (suits) of four cards each. Each month has a corresponding plant which is represented on the card. The cards are printed on thick, red plastic. Some of the cards have the word "光" (‘bright’) used to identify high scoring cards, a feature absent in the Japanese version. Hwatu is very commonly played in South Korea. ‘Go Stop’ is a popular card game played in Korea using “Hwatu” (화투) cards. The goal of the game is to gain as many points as possible, with certain combinations netting more points than others.

See also: another version of Hwatu Cards • Diamond brand Hwatu • Waddamda Hwatu

Above: 'New Royal Gold' Hwatu cards made in Korea, 2012. There are twelve suits, representing months. Each is designated a flower, and each suit has four cards. Typically, each suit will have two normal cards and one special card. A deck of Korean Hwatu cards usually includes bonus cards; these are shown in the bottom row.