Black and White of Valentine's Day - the Korean Way

I like this note by a Mensa member, Sam who is Korean. I asked for his permission to publish this in my blog.

********ooo OOO ooo *******

I've heard about this sometime ago, but with Valentine's Day just around the corner, I've been hearing it being mentioned among the Koreans quite often recently.

Apparently, Valentine's Day has taken a different twist when it became a part of new Korean culture. According to Yahoo! Korea, Valentine's Day is a day when "ladies profess their love interest by giving the men chocolate and flowers."

On the flip side, another day of unknown origin has been set aside for the men to do the same for the ladies. It's called the White Day which falls exactly a month after Valentine's Day - 14th of March

I was only 10 when I left Korea. Back then, I don't think the distinction between the "Valentine's Day" and "White Day" existed... or I just wasn't aware of them.

My first reaction... I thought it sort of made sense for the Korean culture. If you haven't noticed already, women in Korea tend to take care of their men quite well (almost motherly). So, it really didn't seem too out of the ordinary for the women to express their interest first (earlier date) before the men do.

I would be lying if I said I don't want to receive any chocolates. But... I think I would have mixed feelings about it. I am currently at a point in my life where I am not ready to be the partner that I like to be even if the feeling was mutual. If the feeling isn't mutual, I will probably try to be cordial and give her chocolate on the "White Day" with a friendly note.

Do you think this is a good idea to find out if the person, you have been admiring or have a crush on, likes you? Why not? Wouldn't it be a tragedy if people lived out their lives not knowing the people they secretly admire felt the same way about them.

There's always the chance that the feeling isn't mutual. Rejections can be painful and most of us avoid situations where we can be rejected. But then again, if I were given the choice between living out my life not knowing if I have any chance with someone special and being rejected by the very same person, I would choose to take my chances. What's the worst that can happen? Rejection? Humiliation? I think it's worth the risk.

If rejected, I will eventually stop pining over what could have been and move on. Who knows, once the person is no longer taking a hold of my mind, I might be able to open my eyes to someone truly special who's been there all along.

Black Day - the antithesis of Valentine's Day and White Day

I heard of it from my roommate (flatmate) and I had to look this one up.

According to Yahoo! Korea, Black Day (14th April), which falls exactly one month after White Day (14th March), is a day when those who spent Valentine's Day and White Day alone (without a date) go out to eat JaJangMyung (짜장면) dress all in black. The origin is unknown, but it's suspected that it had been created by those who felt left out of the Valentine's Day and White Day festivities as the antithesis to White Day... to console each other.

짜장면

JaJangMyun (짜장면) is a Chinese bean paste sauce noodle that had been adapted to suite Korean taste. It has since become a national favorite dish. I have heard rumors that the price of a bowl of 짜장면 has been capped by the government in order to keep the inflation under control.