Culture: Happy Pepero Day!

Today is 11-11-2005. In Korea it's Pepero Day (빼빼로 데이), otherwise known as "I love you" Day. On this day, people are supposed to buy Pepero sticks, and give them to people you know, while pledging your never-ending commitment to them with the sacred words "I LOVE YOU".



Quoting the history from JoongAng Daily News:

The Pepero snack is a replica of Pocky, the Japanese treat of chocolate-dipped cookie sticks. The 11th of November is known as Pepero Day, because "11/11" looks like four sticks. Pepero Day supposedly started in 1994 at a girls' middle school in Busan, where students exchanged Pepero sticks, wishing each other to become as tall and slender as a Pepero.

...

Waitaminit here!!

Pepero sticks sell like no other on this day. If you read the quoted article, it even mentions that the whole concept was rumored to be started by the giant Korean consumer product giant Lotte. So I figure, Pepero day being the marketing scam is probably more true.

Guys give them to guys too, which is honestly a little too pansy for me.

OK, so I admit that I bought the sticks in the picture (*blushes). It's for the sweet old cleaning ladies at work. They've been good to us OK!

Anyway ~ Happy Pepero Day.