Valentine’s Day just passed on Friday and there was so much love in the air. For this cultural post, I thought it would be interesting to focus on discussing and exploring Valentine’s Day in Korea and how it is different. I thought that Valentine’s Day in every country would be about the same but it’s a little different in Korea. After doing some research, I found that there are 12 “love days” celebrated on the the 14th of every month in Korea. The traditional Valentine’s Day in Korea is a little different where the women give chocolates or gifts to the men. Then men will show affection to their women in the following month on March 14th and it’s called White Day. On White Day, the men will have to reciprocate the gift they got the previous month but are expected to follow the Rule of Three which means they have to give a gift that is three times the value of what they received in February. In April, Black Day is a day to celebrate singles. Singles will get together and eat Jajangmyeon (Black bean noodles). It sounds like a pretty depressing day and to be reminded of your single status is rough which is why there isn’t really advertising. But it has been developing in recent years. Instead of being a depressing day, it’s more of a self- appreciating day now and a celebration of being single. The other days in the other months are called Diary Day (January), Rose Day (May), Kiss Day (June), Silver Day (July), Green Day (August), Photo Day (September), Wine Day (October), Movie Day (November), Hug Day (December).
I think that this is a really interesting cultural aspect. Especially when I did some more research and found that in other Asian countries, women give gifts on Valentine’s Day and White Day is a pretty big deal as well. White Day actually originated in Japan in 1977 when a Japanese confectioner decided that March 14th was Marshmallow Day. It didn’t really stick so they changed the name to White Day. It’s basically a day where men will reply to their gifts given to them on Valentine’s Day. White symbolizes the purity of love but it is also associated with sugar. Another really important part of White Day is that it’s important to include white into your gifts as much as possible. I really like the idea of women giving gifts and receiving even better gifts the next month mostly because I feel like it’s good to celebrate each other's love. I also think it’s interesting that these days exist and I think it’s something that could also be celebrated in Western culture as well. I feel like celebrating love is such a hallmark holiday for industries to make money but at the same time and it seems to be about the same in every country, it’s a really nice time for couples to be reminded and celebrate their love on these days. Although, it can be sad to think more about your single status when you are single on Valentine’s and White Day, it can also be a time to appreciate yourself and your friends more than you have had in the past.
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