hankyoreh

By Yu Sun-hui　

With Nov. 11, 2011, quickly approaching, companies in South Korea are beginning to advertise it as a once-in-a-thousand-years “Millennium Pepero Day,” where the number “one” appears six times, with the hope of selling more of the cookie stick product. The event, however, is also causing some pressure among those living in homeland of the famous cookie stick.

Ms. Yu, a 35-year-old homemaker with a daughter in kindergarten, had a disconcerting experience recently.

“We went to the supermarket, and my daughter saw a basket with a doll and Pepero in it,” she said. “And she kept pestering me to buy one for each of her classmates at the kindergarten.”

“I asked my daughter, ‘Do you know what Pepero Day is?’ and she said it was ‘a day when you give Pepero to the people you like,’” Yu added.

“I had no way of explaining to a child that Pepero Day was a company’s commercial strategy, and I knew her little heart would be broken if I did not buy it, so I ended up buying Pepero to take to the kindergarten on the 11th,” Yu said.

Since this year’s Pepero Day falls the day after the College Scholastic Ability Test (CSAT) university entrance exam on Nov. 10, not only snack makers but stationery shops, flower delivery services, jewelers, hotels, and restaurants are joining the frenzy, anticipating greater demand. As a result, purchases by adults and middle and high school students are being joined by elementary school and kindergarten students without purchasing power who are falling for the Pepero Day hard sell and pestering their parents to fork over for the snacks.

A 36-year-old parent named Lee went to the supermarket after her elementary school student son asked her to buy Pepero for him to give to his girlfriend. Lee said she didn‘t feel right about it.

“I saw how they were sticking dolls and toys that kids like in with the Pepero and selling it for over 10,000 won, and I thought, ‘This is going too far,’” she explained.

Companies that target adults are advertising Nov. 11 as a “once-in-a-millennium day for saying ‘I love you.’” Flower delivery services are offering proposal flower baskets at well over 200 thousand won ($179), while jewelers are selling “Millennium Pepero Day couple rings.” Some hotel restaurants announced plans to sell a special couple menu costing over 100 thousand won on Friday evening.

A 30-year-old company employee named Cho said, “I have been very concerned since last month when my girlfriend asked that we celebrate the ‘Millennium Pepero Day’ event together.”

“Gifts have been marked up by a lot,” Cho added. “You could easily spend 200 thousand won buying a flowers-and-Pepero package and a dinner.”

As though to reflect this, “homemade Pepero recipes” have popped up as a popular search term on Internet portal sites. The bubble in Pepero Day gift prices is leading a growing number of people to try their hand at making the snacks themselves.

Kim Su-yeong, 32, explained, “I figured it would better to save some money and give Pepero with my heart in it, so I have been practicing like a fiend with the recipe.”

The Pepero Day celebration on Nov. 11 is notable because the date, “11-11-11,” is shaped like the long, thin Pepero sticks.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]