Children get all excited about this day, Ppeppero Day.
Ppeppero comes from the Korean root meaning “skinny.” These are skinny cookie sticks dipped in chocolate. Ppeppero Day occurs on November 11th, or 11/11.
Get it?
It’s an obvious commercial ploy by the Korean conglomerates, more than likely Lotte, to obligate children to buy candies on a specified day. It’s really no different from Hallmark inventing Valentine’s Day to sell more greeting cards.
When I talk about Ppeppero Day with Korean adults, they almost all ask, “What d
o you think about that?”
The adults are acutely aware of the commercial propaganda of this day. Being a teacher and a parent, I have learned that one person alone is powerless against a multi-million dollar marketing campaign.
So I bought a few 500 won packs of Bpebpero to hand out to my students.
On Ppeppero Day, we teachers also receive Ppeppero from students. This was only my second Ppeppero Day, but in one year’s time, it seems like the flavor has improved a lot. Last year, I could barely eat the things because they tasted so laden with chemicals.
This year they tasted more natural, like a delicate Swiss cookie. And they had larger, more creative varieties. My favorite was essentially a waffle cone rolled into a long tube and dipped in chocolate. It was a foot long.
And also, they can be pretty useful. Their pencil-like shapes come in handy when you run out of ink.
