Here was me thinking that the 11 November signaled the end of World War I and was a serious event across the world about remembering those who fought and those who gave their lives in armed combat. Well, it seems, not in Korea!!

The 11 November is Peppero day and unofficial holiday when (most young people and couples) give and receive Peppero chocolate sticks! It is a day of: “romance, gaudy cardboard packaging emblazoned with butchered English love lines, and massive fortunes earned by convenience stores and Wonka-esque entrepreneurs.” (Source: someone writing on Wikipedia)

Peppero is a cookie stick dipped in chocolate, they taste a bit like the chocolate dips I used to eat as a kid but the dipping is already done for you!

I only found out about Peppero day last Thursday and it was the 11th on Saturday, this was despite the massive displays in shop windows – I STILL can’t read Korean!

When Friday afternoon arrived I was amazed to realised how massive it was. In the morning, teaching kindergarten, it had barley been mentioned other than the Korean teachers decorating boxes of Peppero to give to each of the kids. But as the afternoon took hold it was everywhere!! Kids were arriving with bags full of Peppero to give to their teachers and friends. The amount and type of box you were given appeared to directly related to how much you were liked by that particular child! The Koreans teachers went into every class armed with boxes to bribe the kids with and got loads of pretty looking boxes in return. Not having had any warning of the days enormity Kat and I only had the Peppero we had been given by the kids, so nothing to use as a bribe!

But seeing how much Peppero was being distributed around the school Kat and I decided to have a competition to see who could get the most Peppero by the end of the day. My first box came from Amy, whose mum teaches at the school, she gave one box to each of the teachers, which put me and Kat on one box each. Then fist lesson arrived and Kat gained two sticks to my one in lesson. The day carried on along the same lines until one of my kids, who barley says a word in class, gave me a box, which I thought was very sweet of her, and edged me into the lead. Then in my last class of the day (a class of girls that I really like) I scored the ace getting two whole boxes, one of which I shared with the class and Kat. Leaving me with a total score of four boxes, four wrapped sticks and three individual sticks, to Kat’s one box, ???? wrapped sticks and ??? individual sticks. Crowing me the overall winner!

After all this I’m sure your wondering, as we were, where did Peppero day come from? Wikipedia has two conflicting accounts about how Peppero day came about. I’d like to believe the first but I’m sure the latter is true.

The one I’d like to believe:

Peppero Day was started in 1994 by students at a girls’ middle school in Busan, where they exchanged Peppero sticks as gifts to wish one another to grow “as tall and slender as a Peppero” (Peppero means “thin like a stick”).

However, I’m not sure I’d like to aspire to be tall and thin as a Peppero, it’d be an impossible challenge!

The one that’s probably true:

Peppero Day is a marketing idea invented by the makers of the popular snack. On this day, people buy boxes of Peppero to give to their lovers, teachers, classmates, coworkers, and pets.

The date was chosen because November is the eleventh month of the year. The numerical date for November 11th (11/11) resembles four Peppero sticks. Shop windows are decorated with hearts and “Give Peppero to the special people in your life” signs.

In Japan, a similar Pocky Day was held on November 11 in 1999, which was the 11th year of the Heisei era. The date, 11/11 of the 11th year, resembled 6 sticks of Pocky. According to Korean sources this day was based on the Peppero Day.

The Peppero phenomenon certainly worked as a marketing ploy, in the lead up to the 11th the shops were full of it and as we traveled around Seoul on Saturday (the 11th) there were people all over the place with massive amounts of Peppero. But what amazed me was that it is supposed to signifying growing tall and tin like a Peppero yet is such a fattening snack! I guess as long as the chocolate makers are rolling in the proceeds they don’t see the irony behind it.

* Posted by j150vsc on 14/11/2006.