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Tidbits of Zen

February 12, 2009

The 14th is a special day in Korea

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Written by: Daniel
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Could someone please tell me why the 14th is so special?

Here is a great website that I found with information on each of the 14th days.

January 14th – Diary Day
Couples are meant to give each other a diary or year planner thing, and note down all the rest of these lovely gift-giving days.

February 14th – Valentine’s Day
In contrast to Western society, today is traditionally when women give chocolates to their men and confess their love.

March 14th – White Day
Men give candy to the women they love (and flowers and choc and cuddly toys….in fact, anything really!)

April 14th – Black Day
A purely Korean day, for those singletons out there, who havnt received choc or candy so far, console yourselves by eating ja jang myun – a black noodle soup – or other black foods.

May 14th – Rose Day / Yellow Day
Couples exchange roses, and those lonely hearts gather for curry and companionship. Apparently dressing in yellow is also recommended.

June 14th – Kiss Day
As one site puts it: ‘Lovers confess their feelings to one another and kiss passionately.’ Just another excuse to make out really!!

July 14th – Silver Day
I’m liking this idea – couples can freely ask their friends to give them money to pay for a date! (I shall call this ‘free date day’!!) Couples exchange gifts made of silver, and announce their relationship to their friends.

August 14th – Green Day
Couples are supposed to dress in green, and walk outside in the woods (ooh camouflage opportunity!)
Singles drink a (green) bottle of soju to console themselves.

September 14th – Photo & Music Day (I’m really not making these up!)
Any guesses…?! Couples take photographs together, then in the evening go out with friends to noraebangs and night clubs. (Which is what we Westerners do every week, right?!)

October 24th – Apple Day
You ready to learn something? The Korean word for apple, sa-kwa, also means to apologize. On Apple Day, friends, family and couples give an apple to each other to apologize for past mistakes.

November 11th – Pepero Day (Ah yes, the choc stick day!)
A new day that has taken off in South Korea, it is named after a pencil-shaped cookie stick covered in chocolate, given mostly by young Koreans as an expression of their affection.
The 11th day of the 11th month is specifically chosen as the number looks like a Pepero stick. Students exchange the treats with one another with the thought of growing tall and thin (an obsession in Korea, tho don’t think eating choc cookies is gonna help there…!)

November 14th – Movie Day & Orange Day
Ok, i’m not even gonna explain this one!

December 14th – Hug Day
We actually met people in Seoul giving out free hugs last year! Couples are meant to hug one another lovingly to stay warm in the cold winter months.

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About the Author

Daniel
Daniel Gray is a Korean adoptee that returned to Korean in 2005 because he wanted to try and find his birth mother and to learn about Korean culture. He started a restaurant review blog in 2007, www.seouleats.com, that became a local and international hit. He and his blog has been featured in the New York Times, Monocle Magazine, The Kimchi Chronicles, Bizarre Foods, Rudy Maxa, Olive Magazine, Euronews and much more. He now is a partner at O’ngo Food Communications (www.ongofood.com), which is a culinary tourism and consulting company that offers Korean cooking classes and restaurant tours to travelers. Their food tours and cooking classes are ranked as one of the top attractions in Seoul according to tripadvisor.




 
 

 
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2 Comments


  1. must love movies

    what the heck? these are so silly


  2. Kansan

    My 5-year-old niece Ella sings a strange version of Eeny Meeny that I have never heard before (can't remember it now).

    I think I sang the same version as you as a child, Kim.

    I looked this up on wikipedia to try and find my niece's version of the song. I couldn't find that in the Wiki entry, but I did find this appalling piece of terrible American history:

    From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eeny,_meeny,_miny,_moe

    "This version was similar to that reported as the most common version among American schoolchildren in 1888.[8] It was used in the chorus of Bert Fitzgibbon's 1906 song "Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo":

    Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Mo,
    Catch a nigger by his toe,
    If he won't work then let him go;
    Skidum, skidee, skidoo.
    But when you get money, your little bride
    Will surely find out where you hide,
    So there's the door and when I count four,
    Then out goes you.[9]"

    Why is it that most common children's songs have dark histories?



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