11/11/11 MILLENIUM PEPERO DAY!

November 11th, 2011.

It's a very lucky day for most people around the world, rightly so.  But I'm willing to bet that Korea is set apart from most of the world for their unique celebration of this special day.

11/11 is celebrated by consuming large amounts of Pepero.  Waaaay toooo much pepero.  What is pepero?  Pepero is a Korean candy that takes a long stick of breadish deliciousness and dips it in chocolate.  And they resemble "1"'s, hence the big hoop-lah about it.


You may be familiar with Pocky sticks, the wonderful Japanese snack you come across once in a while and feel culturally invigorated for a second as you indulge.  Pepero is the Korean version of Pocky sticks.

This year was an especially big deal, it being 2011 and all; The "Millenium Pepero Day".  All retail stores had a field day with it.

Pepero archways at Lotte-Mart!

Banner advertisements at bus stops!

 And ohh so elaborate displays at every single grocery store you passed.  Hearts constructed using boxes and boxes of pepero and pepero being stacked miles high and wide.


     

 

So...many.....pepero....
Needless to say, my students went NUTS over it and they were jumping off the walls, totally high on pepero, boxes and boxes and boxes of pepero being passed around to their classmates, trading different flavors, shoving as many of those damn sticks as they possibly could into their pie holes, chocolate smeared all over their faces and clothes.  "Teacha, Teacha!  Here!"  (Hands me 3 boxes of pepero)   and then immediately turns around.." Teacha, Teacha!  Give me pepero!"  After about 70 students, I had more pepero than I could ever imagine eating on my own. 

 

Several hours into the day, I experienced one of the most massive sugar crashes of my entire life and I dragged my exhausted bones to the end of the day, with an aching headache, swearing off pepero for the rest of my life...just in time to meet my boyfriend, who had a huge packaged plastic rose with several huge pepero sticks with disgustingly cute Korean English love phrases plastered all over it (one of Korea's many specialties).  I gritted my teeth and took it, knowing it was the thought that counted.

 

One of my student's English diary entry about Pepero Day:

PEPERO SONG!