Pepero Day Means Holiday Stress for Couples, Coworkers:
Damned if You Do, Damned if You Don’t. Why Must There be Pepero Day!
November 11th, the most parallel day of the year, brings towering displays of cookie Pepero hearts in convenience stores, Pepero exchanges between sweethearts, and the choice between buying new white chocolate or melon flavored Pepero for Lotte Confectionery’s favorite holiday, Pepero Day. However, the day also brings anxiety, as couples and offices debate whether it is a real holiday, meaning that not giving a gift would be rude, or if it is a fake holiday, safe to ignore.
Netizens seemed to fall firmly into the “Pepero Hater” group, although the fact that Lotte does 50% of all annual Pepero sales between September and November shows that there are a large number of consumers who still shell out for the cookie sticks.
This year, twenty-nine-year-old junior office employee, Miss Kim, gets on edge just thinking about Pepero Day. Last year, November 11th began like any other day. After commuting to work she saw another team in her company handing out high-end hand-made chocolate snacks sold at department stores. “But wait!” Miss Kim was in for another shock as she walked through the hallway as she left for the day. “There was talk of the ‘office life lacking consideration’ and ‘the general lack of appreciation towards us’. Usually I didn’t care much for such snacks and since I didn’t have a boyfriend at the time I never thought of Pepero Day.
This year, even though Miss Kim vowed to rightfully give out the snacks on November 11, she’s struggling with possible misunderstanding related to the gift giving. Her peers last year who gave out the chocolates didn’t just receive praise for doing so, they also caught flack for “sucking up” and “playing office politics” too much.
Mr. Lee, in his late thirties and the most senior-ranking department head in his company, also starts to worry around Pepero day. Having been the first among his peers to be promoted, he feels that he still has to prove himself to his subordinates. Feeling as if he’s been falling behind in competing with his predecessors, Mr. Lee often feels worried come the morning of November 11th. “I am anxious about what will happen on Pepero Day if my employees receive gifts from the other departments’ heads and I have nothing for them.”
Valentine’s Day, White Day, Pepero Day and other so-called “anniversaries” mean serious stress for office workers. Outside of one’s work abilities, human relations are a factor in career success within Korea. Even with a manufactured holiday like Pepero Day, it is difficult to ignore the social obligations. According to a report published in March of 2012 by Embrain EZ-Survey, among 566 office workers, 8 out of 10 reported receiving gifts from co-workers on any of the various “days” celebrated (Valentine’s Day, White Day, Pepero Day). Among the reasons for receiving gifts, 48.9% claimed it was due to “a special occasion”, while 31.2% said they received gifts out of “appreciation for their contributions”.
Geumjoo Kwak, a professor of psychology at Seoul National University, says, “In this relationship-centered culture that has arisen in Korea, things like networking, promotions, and thoughts of one’s own gains and connections can easily trigger stress. These kinds of celebrated non-business-related “anniversaries” can cause excessive competition and shatter cooperation among office teams. Some even suffer depression and loss of self-esteem due to perceived failure on these days.”
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Image: https://topiclessbar.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/namsan-pepero-day.jpg
VOCABULARY:
1. networking - interact with other people to exchange information and develop contacts, especially to further one's career.
2. commercialized - designed principally for financial gain profit-oriented.
3. exploited - make full use of and derive benefit from (a resource).
4. shatter - upset (someone) greatly
DISCUSSION
1. Today is Pepero Day., what does this day mean to you?
2. Do you like small, and maybe even overrated celebrations like these? Why/Why not?
3. What is the appeal of these kinds of celebrations to people?
4. Do you think these relationship-centered holidays/ celebrations are impractical? Why/Why not?
