Pepero Day

Tuesday was Pepero Day. Pepero is a cookie that's kind of like a thin non-salty pretzel stick with chocolate coating. You can buy many different varieties of Pepero. There's Pepero with only chocolate, Pepero with chocolate and nuts, big Pepero, mini Pepero, Pepero in special gift boxes—and you can even buy “naked” Pepero (the kind with chocolate in a hollow center)!

Pepero Day is always November 11. That's because the date 11/11 looks like a row of Pepero sticks. The tradition is to buy a bunch of Pepero and then exchange it with your friends. It is also common to give it out at school—at least schools which haven't outlawed the exchange.

The sad part about teaching adults, though, is that they don't usually get into Pepero Day quite as much. Therefore, the chances of obtaining at lot of Pepero at an institute for adults is rather low. I was optimistic, however, because one of my students brought me some Pepero on November 10, and we had a kind of pre-Pepero Day celebration together. But on the actual holiday, no one gave me anything! I don't like to think that I'm selfish (or addicted to chocolate), but it was really quite sad. (Of course, I didn't give out any either, so everyone remains even!) As a result, I was forced to eat the Pepero that other teachers received—which coincidentally, was more than enough to go around.

Now, obviously, Pepero Day is a commercial holiday created by the Pepero company for one sole purpose: to sell more Pepero. And on principle, I don't usually support the commercialism that surrounds holidays, but I feel that Pepero Day may be a little special. I mean, it's all about Pepero! And when in Korea, do as the Koreans do... :)