THE OTHER VALENTINE'S DAY: PEPERO DAY
BY JIN YOUNG HAN
There are many ways to show someone that you care
about them; for example, a boyfriend can give flowers
and chocolates to his girlfriend on Valentine’s Day.
In Korea, things have turned out differently; instead
of Valentine’s Day, Koreans celebrate Pepero Day.
Pepero Day, also known as Pocky Day, is celebrated
annually on November 11th. On Pepero Day, Pepero
snacks, which are long chocolate-coated sticks of
cookie, are shared between friends, couples, and
family members. By giving another person a box of
Pepero snacks along with a short, but sincere
message written on its cover, you are showing your
love and gratitude to that person. Recently, the
celebration of Pepero Day has become popular
worldwide, especially in the eastern Asian countries
such as South Korea. Pepero Day is a great chance
for you to show your friends, boy/girlfriend, family,
and others how much you love and appreciate them.
“I make Pepero sticks at home and share them with
my friends,” stated In Hae Jung, a 10th grade student
at Shanghai Livingston American School. She also
added, “I enjoy Pepero Days because I can eat a lot
of Pepero snacks and chocolates.”
Pepero Day is on November 11th owing to the reason
that the Roman numeral date of 11/11 looks like four
pepero sticks. According to Greenhearttravel.org, in
1994, two Korean high school students exchanged a
box of Pepero wishing that they can become thinner
and taller like the Pepero sticks. However, others think
that Lotte, the company that produces Pepero, came
up with this holiday for commercialization. Although
Lotte denies this rumor, it is possible to see that the
celebration of Pepero Day significantly affects the
sale. In 2012, the sales of these snacks exceeded $81.6
million, which is half of Lotte’s annual sales, was
earned from the sale of boxes of Pepero sticks,
according to the Wall Street Journal. Even though
many people enjoy this day by baking their own
Pepero sticks, sharing Peperos, and eating them,
some people get stressed due to the pressure of
preparing for this celebration. Geum Joo Kwak, a
professor of psychology at Seoul National University
gave her opinion on this problem by addressing, “In
this relationship-centered culture that has arisen in
Korea, things like networking, promotions, and
thoughts of one’s own gains and connections can
easily trigger stress. These kinds of celebrated non-
business-related ‘anniversaries’ can cause excessive
competition and shatter cooperation among team.
Some even suffer depression and loss of self-esteem
due to perceived failure on these days.”
“I support Pepero Day because I think it is great to
share Peperos with friends,” said Howard Yan, a junior
at SLAS. In addition, he added, “I love eating pepero
sticks because they combine two of my favorite
snacks: chocolate and cookie.”
Pepero Day has become a very important celebration
around the world. It is a good opportunity for people
to express their care and affection to the ones they
love. Even though there are different rumors about
the start of Pepero Day, many people still celebrate
this event by sharing Pepero sticks with others.
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