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 14th
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 14th , 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 14th of the month is either a romance or a friendship related holiday; take a look at these less popular holidays:
January
14th
|
Diary Day where blank
diaries are given as gifts among couples and friends
|
February
14th
|
Valentine’s day
|
March
14th
|
White Day
|
April
14th
|
Black Day
|
May
14th
|
Rose Day where couples
exchange roses.
|
June
14th
|
Kiss Day where couples
obviously kiss each other, probably for the first time.
|
July
14th
|
Silver Day where couples
exchange silver rings or accessories and discuss future marriage plans.
|
August
14th
|
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
14th
|
Wine Day where couples
drink wine over a romantic dinner.
|
November
14th
|
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? 😊
|
As you can see, there is always a reason to celebrate in Korea even if it's a very simple one and I just love this celebratory culture of Korea 😊
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