December 2023

Q. What is bridge?

Bridge is a card game in which two teams of two participate. First, you sit across from your partner at a square table. The teams are called North-South and East-West. The 52 trump cards (minus the joker) are divided into sets of 13. Bridge uses letter cards (A, K, Q, J) and number cards (10 to 2). A is the strongest while 2 is the weakest. The game starts with a ¡°trick¡± in which each player puts out one card. The person who plays the most powerful card wins the trick. The player who won the trick places the cards in front of them vertically while the players that lost places the cards horizontally. You win the game if your team has more vertical cards than the opposing team. The entire process takes place without any words or gestures.

Q. Some of the rules change for each game.

There¡¯s a concept known as ¡°bidding¡± in bridge. It¡¯s like a contract between players saying, ¡°We¡¯re going to accurately implement this situation.¡± For example, we can bid ¡°4H¡± (meaning ¡°four hearts¡±) if our team has a lot of hearts. It means that we will win 10 out of 13 hands with hearts. The more difficult the bid, the more points you earn if you win. Of course, that means the other team scores points if you don¡¯t win the bid. That¡¯s why it¡¯s important to know what cards your partner has.

Q. Could you tell us about the representative terms used in bridge?

There¡¯s something called a ¡°hand¡± in bridge. Each player receives 13 cards corresponding to North, South, East and West. A ¡°board¡± is used to hold the cards. There¡¯s also a ¡°screen,¡± kind of like a partition that¡¯s placed between players. It¡¯s imperative that you hide your hand from your opponent in bridge. It¡¯s also very important not to speak or make any gestures. Still, a person¡¯s face can give away their hand, so that¡¯s why we use a screen. When the bidding is over, the screen is raised, and the game begins.

Q. Each person only reveals one card, so how do you know what cards your partner has?

We agree in advance. My partner knows what cards I have just by looking at a portion of them or watching the flow of play. The agreement my partner and I made for the Asian Games was over 300 pages long! We created and memorized the bidding system so we would be able to play freely without looking at our notes. For example, if I play a lowscoring card in a bid, my partner can interpret that as meaning I have something important to play.

Q. Bridge seems like a difficult game, how did you first learn about it?

I joined bridge club when I was a freshman in 2010. Playing bridge made it so much fun to use my brain. Everything from having to remember what cards had been played to researching how to win was fun. From then on, I put aside my school studies and focused only on playing bridge.

Q. Your hobby became your profession. How did you feel after participating in the Hangzhou Games?

Bridge was first adopted in the Asian Games in 2018. Korea didn¡¯t have a team at the time, so I wasn¡¯t able to compete. So, The KCBL and its players put a lot of effort into participating in this year¡¯s Asian Games. Their efforts made it even more meaningful for Korea to participate in the Asian Games for the first time since bridge had been adopted as an event.

Q. What¡¯s the most important thing when it comes to bridge?

Partnership. While there are many rules in bridge, the cards that can be bid on are limited. There are times when the same rule is interpreted differently. Misunderstandings are likely to occur if agreements aren¡¯t set in great detail in advance. It¡¯s incredibly important to be aware of your partner¡¯s thoughts. My partner and I eat and talk a lot every day, even when we¡¯re not training. We need to make sure we know each other and our thought processes if we want to succeed in the game.

Q. What are your strengths?

I think the next most important thing in bridge is mentality, and I tend to have a good outlook. When you or your partner make a mistake, you have to quickly forget it and prepare for the next play. A huge incident can occur if one player makes a mistake and their partner also messes up. I tend to think that I should do my own thing first, which helps me let go of my concerns more quickly.

Q. But, there must be times when you feel nervous.

Players get a break after each game, so I move around a lot. I stretch and drink some water, and then move as much as possible. I sometimes talk briefly with my partner for 10 seconds about any mistakes I made. When I put my cards on the board, I say ¡°I made a mistake earlier. Let¡¯s forget it.¡± That¡¯s how I deal with my nerves. Most people don¡¯t do anything during the break, but I feel like I have to do something to relieve tension.

Q. Do you have any unforgettable bridge moments?

I participated in a tournament hosted by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) in early 2022. It¡¯s the most famous bridge tournament in the United States, and it has a lot of smaller competitions. My team didn¡¯t have any competitive experience, so we entered a competition for people with scores ranging from 0 to 10,000. We came in first place! That was a rewarding moment that made me feel proud and happy.

Q. Please describe bridge in one phrase.

It is the best brain game in the world. There are so many advantages. Bridge can help you become interested in using your brain and make a lot of friends. You also have a lot of chances to communicate with foreigners, which can help you improve your English skills.

Q. Let us know your future plans.

I want to promote bridge to a much broader audience. Bridge is most often played by older Koreans, and the player base is very small. So, I will continue to educate various age groups. And, one day, I want to win third or higher in World Bridge Championships. I want to become a player who can hang out with the world.