Happy Pepero Day!

Pepero. You might know them as Pocky sticks-- the Japanese version more commonly sold in the states.

Growing up my mom would often purchase these little chocolate covered sesame sticks from the Oriental food market as special treats for my sister and me. One year, I in turn gave them out as valentines to my class, excited to be able to give something somewhat unique that would share my Korean-ness with my friends.

It wasn't until coming to Korea, though, that I discovered there is actually an entire holiday devoted solely to the giving and recieving of the tasty little treats.

Today, November 11th, or 11.11 (imagine 4 pepero sticks lined up neatly in a row), marks the celebration of the unoffical but wide-spread Korean holiday Pepero Day. On this day, friends, family and sweethearts exchange boxes of Pepero as a show of affection. It is similar to Valentine's day-- but the vibe I get is a little more playful, and a little less romantic. The boxes of Pepero, of course, are specially decorated with hearts and flowers to promote the holiday. There are even giant gift baskets and stuffed Pepero toys for those who really want to go all out.


It's quite impressive what a bit of clever marketing can do-- the holiday has really taken off, and I was told that nearly 50% of Lotte's Pepero sales happen in November, despite the fact that it has obviously been entirely contrived by the candy's makers just for that purpose. And a number of other retailers are capitalizing on the Pepero Day hype as well by giving out free Pepero with every purchase. Even at the bank earlier this morning, I was greeted by a tall glass full of Pepero sticks sitting on the counter.

Turns out, though, that despite all the obvious enthusiasm in the stores and on the streets, the Korean goverment is not so happy with the holiday, and for the past 3 years have been making a big push to promote the exchange of Garaetteok (Korea's traditional rice cake sticks) instead of Pepero, in order to raise domestic rice consumption. Read about their efforts here.

Noble cause, I suppose, but if the excitement that my middle school students (and co-teachers) express over giving and recieving Pepero is any indication, I'm just not sure that rice cake will be able to compete.