You Lose If You Don't Throw vs You're It — Korean RPS by Region

"An naemyeon jin geo" (you lose if you don't throw) and "an naemyeon sullae" (you become the chaser) both define what happens when you fail to throw your hand in time. • An naemyeon jin geo — if you don't throw a hand, you automatically lose • An naemyeon sullae — if you don't throw a hand, you become "it" (restart / the chaser) or take a penalty The end result is the same message — "throw your hand fast" — but the word choice differs.

There are no official statistics, but based on internet community surveys: • Seoul / Gyeonggi — "an naemyeon jin geo" dominant (about 75%) • Busan / Gyeongsang — a mix of "an naemyeon jin geo" and "an naemyeon sullae" • Gwangju / Jeolla — "an naemyeon jin geo" dominant • Gangwon / Chungcheong — a higher share of "an naemyeon sullae" than elsewhere • Jeju — has its own local variations of the call This tends to be decided by which rule the local schools and kindergartens taught in each self-governing area.

Reasons it never converged into one: 1. There is no RPS rule in the standard curriculum (obviously) 2. It developed organically neighborhood by neighborhood and school by school 3. Media (animation, variety shows) uses both 4. Because the meaning is identical, there is little pressure to unify Interestingly, even within the same neighborhood it is common for the rule to differ once the school is different.

All the variations of the Korean RPS starting call: 1. "Gawi bawi bo!" (the most basic) 2. "Gawi bawi bo, an naemyeon jin geo" (…you lose if you don't throw) 3. "Gawi bawi bo, an naemyeon sullae" (…you become it) 4. "Gawi bawi bo, dari tteolmyeon gananhaejinda" (if you shake your leg you'll go broke — a penalty variant) 5. "Muk! Jji! Ppa!" — the call for the Muk-jji-ppa game 6. "Naesseumyeon mureugi eopgi!" (no take-backs once you've thrown!) — a follow-up call Since there is no official rule, the diversity by neighborhood and region is rich.

On an online Rock Paper Scissors game like Gababo, a time limit is applied automatically. If you don't make a choice within the set time, it is processed as an automatic loss (the "you lose if you don't throw" rule). Every user is unified under the same rule, so fair play is guaranteed with no regional differences.

• RPS rules (full regional and international breakdown): /rules • History of RPS: /history • RPS variant games: /variants