Pepero Day

Today is November 11th, or 11/11, or Pepero Day. Since 11/11 looks like four sticks in a row, kids all over Korea gave each other four long thin cookies covered in chocolate which are known as pepero. Each box that you see above has four sticks so you can make the date 11/11. The kids get so much pepero at school that they come to my institute and give some to their teachers. The picture above is just a small portion of the pepero I hauled in today. I left most of it at school to be regifted to the kids next week when they have no more pepero of their own.

You may be thinking that this is a terrific holiday. Getting chocolate covered cookies does sound appealing, but, alas, you forget that this is Korean candy. Look at the box with the bear who has both a bikini and 5 o'clock shadow and see the "Made in Korea." The "Made in Korea" can be loosely translated to "Expect the Unexpected." At school I opened a box of pepero with anticipation for the treat. I took a bite and swallowed the cookie and chocolate very quickly because I was hungry. The cookie was not in my mouth for very long but I detected a funny taste. I took a second bite and made sure to get a full taste this time. The funny taste was there again and I thought of my bad experience with ramen noodles. There was a distinct taste of rotten fish in the pepero.

I don't think America has enough surprise in its food. Here in Korea, I can still imagine eating Oreos and Fig Newtons because I know exactly what they taste like. I've been eating them my entire life and they've always tasted the same. What if every so often there was an Oreo that tasted like garlic or, better yet, garbage? Before I put an Oreo in my mouth I would say to myself, "Self, I really hope this Oreo doesn't taste like garbage." I think I would appreciate the Oreos and Fig Newtons that have the proper taste a lot more.