Pepero Day

There is a certain marketing genius to be appreciated in convincing an entire nation of people that, for one day a year, they are only truly loved if they are given boxes of chocolate-dipped cookie sticks. And not just any sort of cookie sticks, no, only Pepero-brand confections will do. In what can only be compared to a brand-centric version of Valentine's Day, November 11 is known all over Korea as Pepero Day. It's namesake is a brand of snack cookie, owned by the mega-corporation Lotte, which is little more than my above description: pencil-thin shafts of rather disappointly bland cookie, dipped down to the hilt in milk chocolate. And Koreans buy boxes and boxes of the things every Pepero Day, including often-ridiculously elaborate premade Pepero baskets stacked outside of convenience stores. It's silly, cutesy things like this that it makes it apparent that the Koreans aren't really as different from the Japanese as they would like to think.

The 'legend' behind the holiday is that four schoolgirls, hoping to make their friendship last forever, pledged to send each other a box of Pepero's once every year to stay in touch. (Well, I suppose it's better than a magic pair of blue jeans.) Anyway, they laid out four skinny Peperos on a desk, an thus the date "11/11" was decided on. Somehow, Lotte's lies stuck in the public consciousness, enabling street vendors to sell baskets of cookies and stuffed bears at prices occasionally surpassing 500,000 won (or $500, but I though the won value sounded more impressive).

The least welcome aspect of Pepero Day, and one which I had no warning of, was the greed it seemed to engender in my students. Now, it would seem to go without saying that as I have more than 800 students (around 1400 if the students I teach only once a week are included), there is no way I could afford to give them all Peperos on this holiday. They were of a different mind, however, and when I told them I was in fact Peperoless they all, with very few exceptions, punched and slapped at me as if I had insulted them. They, for some reason I cannot understand, have always believed that I am a magic Westerner with pockets full of candy, and there is nothing I can do but disappoint them. The reaction on Pepero Day was much more extreme than ever before. How could I hold out on them on Pepero Day?! What kind of monster was I?! Maybe they will one day understand that I am not Willy Wonka, and give me a break.

Well, Pepero Day may be silly scheme by a cookie conglomerate... but in the end, though, I can't say that I was above it all.

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Happy Thanksgiving!!!
More later... busy week.