Korean couple days — Pepero Day, White Day, Black Day and 100 days

Korea loves a small "love day." None of them are public holidays, so schools, offices and banks stay open. They are just fun customs, and shops love them. Here is a calendar to carry around. Nobody has to celebrate all of it. A small gift or a kind message is enough.

Your love-day calendar

January 14: Diary Day. Couples give each other diaries. (Yes, the 14th is a theme. More on that below.)

February 14: Valentine's Day (밸런타인데이, baelleontain dei). In Korea, it usually works in one direction. Women give gifts to men, and chocolate is the most common gift. This style is often said to have come from Japan.

March 14: White Day (화이트데이, hwaiteu dei). One month later, men give gifts back to women. The usual gift is candy. White Day also started in Japan. It began as a sales idea to get men to return Valentine's gifts.

April 14: Black Day (블랙데이, beullaek dei). This one is for single people. Single friends meet and eat 짜장면 (jjajangmyeon), noodles in a thick black bean sauce. Some people also wear black clothes. Is it sad? Not really. Many people treat it as a cheerful day with friends. Try this with a single friend: 짜장면 먹으러 갈래? (jjajangmyeon meogeureo gallae?) — "Want to go eat jjajangmyeon?" One note: nobody knows for sure who started Black Day. So be careful with any story that sounds very sure.

May to October and December: the rest of the 14ths. One Korean newspaper listed a special day on the 14th of nearly every month. Not every couple celebrates all of these days.

November 11: Pepero Day (빼빼로 데이, Ppaeppaero Dei). This is the big one for snack lovers. 빼빼로 (Ppaeppaero) is a thin cookie stick dipped in chocolate. The company Lotte started selling it in 1983.

November 11 is written as 11.11. Four thin ones in a row look like four Pepero sticks. So the day got its name.

How did it start? There are several stories. Most say that schoolgirls in the 1990s gave Pepero to friends. They wished each other to grow "tall and thin" like the stick. The details change from story to story, so nobody can prove it. Lotte is said to have officially named the day in 1997.

Today, people give Pepero to partners, friends and even coworkers. It is not only for couples. If someone hands you a box, say 빼빼로 데이 축하해! (Ppaeppaero Dei chukahae!) — "Happy Pepero Day!"

Also November 11: 가래떡 데이. Some people prefer 가래떡 (garaetteok), a long, white rice cake stick. It also looks like the number 1. In 2006, the Korean government promoted November 11 as 가래떡 데이 (Garaetteok Dei). It honors farmers and rice. November 11 is also Farmers' Day in Korea. 가래떡 is also the rice cake used in 떡국 (tteokguk) and 떡볶이 (tteokbokki).

Any day: counting 100 days

This one is not on the calendar. Many Korean couples count the days from the day they started dating. Then they celebrate every 100 days: 100, 200, 300 and more.

On the 100th day, couples often give flowers and gifts. They may eat at a nice restaurant or take a short trip. Some people even show "day 100" or "day 365" on their KakaoTalk profile. KakaoTalk is the chat app most Koreans use.

In many places, couples mostly mark each full year together. In Korea, the first big date comes much sooner. For many Korean couples, love is counted in days, not only in years.

The number 100 is read 백 (baek). With 일 (il, "day"), it becomes 백일 (baegil). Here are some lines for the day:

• 우리 100일 축하해 (uri baegil chukahae) — "Happy 100 days to us."
• 사귄 지 얼마나 됐어요? (sagwin ji eolmana dwaesseoyo?) — "How long have you been dating?"

Quick check

1. On which date do people give Pepero? → November 11
2. Your Korean friend says "오늘 우리 백일이야!" What is today? → Their 100th day as a couple