[Korean Culture & Language] White Day and Black Day

Hello, this is Uptempo Marketers!


Valentine’s Day is a holiday familiar to many all around the world but have you ever heard of White Day?

Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash

White Day is celebrated exactly one month after Valentine’s Day, on March 14th. In South Korea, women typically gift their valentines with chocolates or sweets on February 14th and in reciprocation, men give gifts to their significant others on White Day. If one were to really follow the tradition, the gift would be white in color, such as white chocolate or white flowers, and be worth three times as much as the gift received on Valentine’s Day. In the present day however, the color nor the price of the gift are of much significance.


White Day first began in Japan in 1977 when a confectionary shop in Fukuoka started selling marshmallows as a gift that men could give women, in response to the gifts they received for Valentine’s Day. A year later, the National Confectionary Industry Association officially dubbed this day “Marshmallow Day” and later changed it to the more open-ended “White Day.” In addition to Korea, China and Taiwan also adopted this holiday.



Come the week before White Day, convenience stores and supermarkets display gift baskets filled with 사탕 (sah-tang; candy) like Chupa Chups and an endless assortment of chocolate boxes, perhaps making it hard for one to make an excuse to their significant other about forgetting the date of the holiday. 




And for those flying solo, there’s Black Day on April 14th. Initiated by the Korean government to help businesses engage in further marketing following Valentine’s Day and White Day, this holiday is strictly designated for singles. On this day, friends who are single don black clothing and come together to eat black-colored foods to lament and mourn their singlehood. The most popular dish that Koreans eat for Black Day is 짜장면 (jja-jjang-myun), a black bean noodle dish that’s regarded as a comfort food by many. Restaurants may offer discounts on 짜장면 for the day or hold 짜장면-eating contests, while coffee shops might offer black coffee specials. Though some singles may take the mourning aspect of the holiday more seriously, Black Day is generally considered a light-hearted holiday during which friends gather to eat 짜장면 and spend quality time together.


Are you planning on celebrating White Day or Black Day this year? Tell us in the comment section below!

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