Balance: Combining Cultures on November 11th (Remembrance Day & Pepero Day)

I’ve lived in Canada my entire life, so I associate November 11th with Remembrance Day; a day where we stop the hustle and bustle of our usual lives to remember and honor the men and women who served in our military and protected our country. 

Last year I was fortunate enough to interview a fine gentleman who served in the Korean war, and I know that this Remembrance Day, I’ll be thinking of him and the others who were all but forgotten by the Canadian government after the war, despite all the sacrifices they made to help those in need. You can read the interview here.

While November 11th is considered a solemn day here, and I treat it with respect, I believe it is also important to enjoy the world our soldiers fought for us to have. Taking an opportunity to be happy in our gratitude doesn’t mean we aren’t treating the day with appropriate gravity. Honor and reverence can take different forms.

Koreans have their own version of Remembrance Day— it takes place on June 6th and is called Hyunchungil (현충일), or Memorial Day —so on November 11th in Korea, a different (and much less serious) national “holiday” takes place. I thought it would be nice to introduce this fun tradition to more Canadians, because like I said above, I believe we owe it to those who once defended us, to enjoy the freedoms their service allowed us.

So let’s talk about Pepero Day (빼빼로 데이)!

First, just to make sure everyone knows what Pepero is (though I’m sure you can guess from the photos): it’s a delicious biscuit-stick snack covered most commonly in chocolate. When Pepero was first released by Lotte Confectionery, it was only available with the signature chocolate coating, but these days there are quite literally dozens of flavors to choose from (some popular flavors in Korea include almond, green tea, cookies and cream, yogurt, strawberry and peanut butter).

This lighthearted celebration is a little bit like Valentine’s Day (which Koreans also celebrate), in that it’s mostly observed by couples and tasty treats are exchanged. The key difference is that on Pepero Day, only one type of treat is shared, and that is, you guessed it, Pepero!

How the “holiday” came to be is somewhat up for debate, though there are a few theories and stories to explain it. The narrative explanation is once, many years ago, two middle school girls in Korea exchanged Pepero sticks and made a wish to grow up tall and thin, just like the shape of the snack. Another theory is that November 11th became Pepero Day because the date 11/11 looks like a line of Pepero.

Regardless of the exact truth, Lotte used the schoolgirl story to advertise for the very first Pepero Day back in 1997, and it definitely succeeded because this is still a favorite, country-wide celebration among Koreans!

Despite the comparison to Valentine’s Day, Pepero Day is not just for couples, but also gives people an opportunity to express affection and appreciation to others they love, such as friends, family, or even their coworkers. Since boxes are quite inexpensive (though the price can increase depending on the flavor and size), I know that I’ll be buying a whole armful to show everyone in my life how much they mean to me.

This is what I meant about enjoyment and appreciation in the beginning of this post. A lot of people forget to be grateful for how nice it is to live in Canada, where we’re quite safe, and I can sleep soundly. In this fast-paced impatient world, take a moment this November 11th and show someone you love them. Plus everyone loves cookies.

Now, if you’ve ever been to an anime convention, you might look at Pepero and think, “Wait, that looks exactly like Pocky”, and you wouldn’t be wrong! They are effectively identical snacks.

That being said, I used to be obsessed with Japan and inhaled more than my fair share of Pocky, but after trying the Lotte Pepero from my local Asian grocery, I can’t go back. This isn’t a dig— everyone has their own tastes —and I know you think I might be biased, but I genuinely like Pepero more.

It’s my hope you walk away from this with a new perspective to consider, even if you ultimately don’t agree with it. On Friday I’ll be paying my respects to the fallen, and bringing joy to those most important to me. There’s room for both in my heart and I believe there’s always balance to be found in the world.