If you take the subway, you will notice that people are either dozing off ― quite an art form in Korea! ― or looking at their smartphones. Women, men, young and old are looking at their smartphones and nowadays playing smartphone games.

And not just any game. The game de rigueur is Anipang. Anipang is a compound word ― “ani” comes from the first syllable of animal and “pang” is the onomatopoeic sound for an explosion. It’s a very simple game. All you have to do is align, either vertically or horizontally, the same heads of at least three animals, and they disappear in a poof.

If you manage to align four or even five, there are extra bonuses. Sound familiar? It’s the same principle as Bejeweled and other such computer games but there are some slight differences that have fed the craze in Korea. Just two months since the game was released, it has recorded 17 million downloads.

So why does it appeal to the Korean psyche so much? There are several reasons. First, it’s very fast. Each game lasts one minute and for each set, there are five games so there is a limit to how many games can be played in one session. Of course there’s always a loophole. You can send and receive “hearts” which is like a voucher to play one game.

Though it can reflect your popularity, at the same time, it can also be a nuisance with people shooting hearts in the middle of the night or in the wee morning hours, and other desperate players “begging” for hearts. So now there is a function to block hearts. After you use up all your hearts, you have to wait eight minutes until they are reloaded. The one-minute time limit is very much in line with the “ppalli ppalli” attitude of Koreans who are always in a rush and are quick to get things done.

Unlike Bejeweled, Anipang not only shows your score but also where you stand compared to your acquaintances. This spikes the competitive spirit of Koreans who like to be the best at whatever they do. It has come to the point where there are tutorials that give tips on how to improve your score.

In order to keep the competitive spirit fresh, each week the slate is wiped clean and everybody begins anew, so there is always the chance that you can make it to the top. While there is competition, the flip side is that there is also a sense of community. You are not playing by yourself in a dark corner, but your results are posted in cyberspace where your friends can see not only that you’re playing but also how well (or poorly) you fare.

This is directly linked to the sense of belonging that is very strong in the Korean psyche. Even though Koreans have become Westernized in a lot of ways, we still think in terms of “we” or “us” and less so in terms of “I” or “me.” This is reflected in our language when we talk about “our” country, “our” husband ― even though we’re monogamous! ― and “our” house or “our” children when it would be more natural in English to talk about my country, my husband, my house or my children.

Anipang is easily accessible ― who leaves home without their cell phone nowadays? ― and since we always carry it with us, it can be used to kill time whenever we have a few minutes. Koreans ― from young kids to the elderly ― are probably the busiest people on the earth with very little free time on their hands, but with the astronomical number of downloads, it appears that it might have been a misconception and that we actually do have at least five minutes to kill here and there.

At the end of the one minute of play, when it appears as if the game is over, there is the last pang. Just when it looks as if it’s all over, the last pang which scroll down vertically and then horizontally to add extra bonus points. This is an endearing element because it gives hope to the player. Just when you think that it’s all over, the last pang comes to save the day.

The next step in the evolution of the game will be a new feature which will allow players to challenge others to a “duel,” adding a little more spice to the competition.

Anipang is unusual because it is not just the younger generation that has caught the bug, but people who usually frown on computer or video games and try to dissuade children from playing are themselves enthralled by the game. Men and women in their forties and fifties are sending and receiving hearts. And for those who are waiting for Anipang to recharge after using up all the five hearts, there is always Candipang to kill time.

By Lim Hyang-ok

Lim Hyang-ok is professor of the Graduate School of Interpretation and Translation, Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul. ― Ed.