Manufactured holidays, which are holidays created by companies to promote their products, are popular in Korea. The most famous manufactured holiday in Korea is “Pepero Day”. Pepero Day is on November 11^th, which looks the same as Pepero, the stick-shaped chocolate snack. In Japan, there is “Pocky Day”. It’s similar to Korea’s Pepero Day. On November 11, Japanese people eat a snack called Pocky, which is a stick-shaped chocolate snack. Celebrating this manufactured holiday has become part of the national culture at some point. In this article, Pharos will examine the beginning of this holiday and find out how to enjoy it. 

  First, how was Pepero Day created? The start of Pepero Day was in 1993. In a girl’s high school in Busan, a lot of Pepero was sold every November 11. The students thought that 11/11 looks like Pepero, so they shared Pepero every November 11. Also in Japan, November 11 is “Pocky and Pretz Day”. On that day, people share stick snacks with friends or lovers. Both Korea and Japan celebrate manufactured holidays. They are not official holidays, but everyone shares snacks on these days. To get personal opinions, we asked Korean and Japanese students about the manufactured holidays.

   -Do you usually enjoy these manufactured holidays?

    Onna Riko, International Industrial Information, 2024: Yeah, I enjoy event days.

    Han, English Language and Literature, 2024: I usually enjoy the manufactured holidays.

  -What is the reason for celebrating them?

   Onna Riko, International Industrial Information, 2024: I think the company uses the holiday to increase consumption, but I'm also using the day for some kind of self-gratification. You use the day to satisfy a need, a need for fun. I think it's a good way to satisfy the desire to have fun or to be satisfied.

    Han, English Language and Literature, 2024: I think a manufactured holiday is just another type of modern culture. It was made for marketing, but now it is a good day to share snacks with friends and lovers. The meaning of the day has changed.

  -What do you think of the act of celebrating it?

    Onna Riko, International Industrial Information, 2024: I think it's good! Not negative!

    Han, English Language and Literature, 2024: As I mentioned earlier, I think celebrating this anniversary is about love and friendship after all. I don’t think it’s bad to enjoy it in moderation.

  So how should we accept these manufactured holidays? Many of us can use manufactured holidays as an opportunity to eat sweets with friends and express our feelings to the people we love. In addition, the manufactured holidays of Pepero and Pocky Day mentioned in this issue have all been celebrated for more than 20 years since they were established, and they continue to be celebrated to this day. 

  It is natural for companies to view the holidays they create as marketing. However, the fact that these holidays have continued for decades means that we need to be open-minded enough to accept them as a part of modern culture. By looking at the people's minds and the atmosphere of society as a whole, we can see the essence of things, for example, the intention behind celebrating the anniversary of the founding of a company or the intention of people who buy sweets on a manufactured holiday.

81st Cub Reporter • CHO SE RYOUNG • sceyesgaze@kyonggi.ac.kr

International Reporter • ASUKA WADA • brightsummer2002@gmail.com