Yostina's Journal: February 2019

Romantic Holidays in Korea

February 13, 2019
By Yostina Wasef
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Did you know that Korea has two big romantic holidays other than Valentine's Day and nine other less popular ones?

Well, Korea celebrates the well-known Valentine’s Day on Feb 14^th just like every other country but it's a bit different. In Korea, celebrating Valentine’s Day is all about men; women buy chocolate or make handmade chocolates and give them as gifts to confess to the man they love. Gifts can be any candy or sweets, not just chocolate.

White Day:

Another popular romantic holiday in Korea is White Day celebrated on March 14th, one month later.

On White Day, things are reversed it’s when men buy the women they love candy, usually white candy hence the name, and give them as gifts to confess their love. It’s usually more in quantity, about the triple of what the women gave back in Valentine’s Day. White day is kind of like a reply to Valentine's day.

In these two holidays- Valentine's Day and White Day- you will find the stores packed with beautiful displays of chocolate and candy gift sets waiting to be snatched by the right person and be given as tokens of love.

Valentine's Day gift sets. Aren’t they cute? 😃 - Photo by fellow Korea.net honorary reporter Nicole Lobos

Black Day:

Black Day?! Yes. Black Day is a day for all the singles who didn’t receive any gifts on either of the previous two holidays to gather together, dressing in black and eat black bean sauce noodles, or Jajangmyeon, to weep and complain about how they didn’t receive any gifts and about the lack of romance in their lives. It’s celebrated on April 14^th , one month after White Day and it’s not really that sad as it sounds, it’s just a symbolic way to express sadness over the lack of romance. This holiday is not really a romantic holiday rather, it's a lack of romance holiday.

Black bean sauce noodles, Jajangmyeon - Photo by fellow Korea.net honorary reporter Jeanne Theresia Kurniawan

Some believe that if a couple eats black bean sauce noodles on black day, they will break up!

There are nine more romantic holidays in Korea but they're not very popular. Actually, in Korea, every 14^th of the month is either a romance or a friendship related holiday; take a look at these less popular holidays:

January 14^th	Diary Day where blank diaries are given as gifts among couples and friends
February 14th	Valentine’s day
March 14^th	White Day
April 14^th	Black Day
May 14^th	Rose Day where couples exchange roses.
June 14^th	Kiss Day where couples obviously kiss each other, probably for the first time.
July 14^th	Silver Day where couples exchange silver rings or accessories and discuss future marriage plans.
August 14^th	Green Day where couples drink Soju, an alcoholic drink traditionally made from rice and comes in green bottles hence the name. Then they take a walk in the woods which is also green.
September 14th	Photo/Music Day where friends and couples take photos and listen to music. Koreans generally love taking photos any time but on Photo Day, it’s a must especially among couples.
October 14^th	Wine Day where couples drink wine over a romantic dinner.
November 14^th	Movie Day where couples rent a movie or go watch a movie together.
December 14th	Hug Day where couples hug each other to beat the cold and wrap the year with warmth. It’s too adorably cute don’t you think? 😊