Questions & Answers

These 'love' days are not official holidays nor are they traditional. It's possible they are the result of fads that developed within groups of young people, university students maybe, and were then picked up on by marketers or product advertisers.

The whole practice may have arising from February 14th initially. From early February, we begin to see special chocolate and confectionary offerings in almost every store, including coffee/donut shops, department and convenience stores, etc.

February 14th is the day for women to give chocolate to men. The date is more popularly known as Red Day, in Korean, although one also sees Valentine's Day signs. It's on March 14th that the men are expected to reciprocate and this day is referred to as White Day. For those men and women unlucky enough not to have received anything in February or March, there's April 14th, which is known as Black Day because those lonely souls are supposed to go eat black bean noodles (jjajangmyun 짜장면). Maybe at the Chinese restaurant, they will meet their 'soul-mate'. However, contrary to the practice in many countries around the world, Korean men are not expected to remember this date – here, it’s the women’s responsibility. The men get their turn in March. Another difference between Korea and many Western (especially) countries, is that the gift giving is generally limited to unmarried people in their 20’s.

If you made a connection in either February, March or April, here are some of the other 'love-day' themes you might want to keep in mind:
May 14th - Rose Day
June 14th - Kiss Day
July 14th - Silver Day
August 14th - Green Day
September 14th - Music Day
October 14th - Wine Day
November 14th - Movie Day (In November there's also Pepero Day)
December 14th - Hug Day
January 14th - Candle Day

That said, remember that these are promotion ideas and social fads, so the list can change from one year to the next. Watch for the advertising - that will give you your clue as to what the theme is now!

K4E Editor: Korea4Expats.com tries to ensure that the information we provide is accurate and complete, so should you notice any errors or omissions in the content above please contact us at info@korea4expats.com.