Pepero is a cookie

Cookie

In the United States and Canada, a cookie is a small, flat, baked treat, usually containing fat, flour, eggs and sugar. In most English-speaking countries outside North America, the most common word for this is biscuit; in many regions both terms are used, while in others the two words have...

 stick, dipped in chocolate syrup

Chocolate syrup

Chocolate syrup is a chocolate flavored condiment. It is often used as a topping for various desserts, such as ice cream or mixed with milk to make chocolate milk.-Basic ingredients:...

, manufactured by Lotte Confectionery

Lotte Confectionery

Lotte Confectionery is a South Korean company headquartered in Yangpyeong-dong Yeongdeungpo-gu Seoul, Korea. It was established in 1967 and its plants are located in Seoul, Daejeon, Yangsan, Pyeongtaek and Siheung. It manufactures and sells more than 200 products to more than 70 countries. It is...

 in South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

 since 1983. It was inspired by the Japanese product, Pocky

Pocky

is a Japanese snack food produced by the Ezaki Glico Company of Japan.-History:Pocky was first sold in 1966, and consists of a biscuit stick coated with chocolate. It was named after the Japanese onomatopoetic word for the sound Pocky makes when bitten, pokkin . The original was followed by...

 produced by Glico.

Flavors

As of 2007, it was sold in 10 different flavors:

• Regular or Chocolate
• Strawberry
  Strawberry
  Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
  
  -flavored
• Almond
  Almond
  The almond , is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree...
  
   Chocolate
• Nude (chocolate in the center)
• Nude Lemon Cheese
• Cocoa
• Soft
• Cheese
• "Woman in White" and "Man in Black" are slightly more "classy" brands of Pepero, and both have chocolate cookie bits scattered throughout the chocolate dip.
• Topic, a style similar to Japanese Toppo
  Toppo
  Toppo also known as "reverse pocky" , is a chocolate and bread-based snack made by Lotte. Normally it consists of a hollowed bread stick with a filling of chocolate...
  
  , also manufactured by Lotte.

Pepero Day

Pepero Day is an observance in South Korea similar to Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day

Saint Valentine's Day, commonly shortened to Valentine's Day, is an annual commemoration held on February 14 celebrating love and affection between intimate companions. The day is named after one or more early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine, and was established by Pope Gelasius I in 496...

. It is named after the Korean snack

Snack

A snack is a small portion of food eaten between meals. The food might be snack food—items like potato chips or baby carrots—but could also simply be a smaller amount of any food item.-Snacks and health:...

 Pepero and held on November 11, since the date "11/11" resembles four sticks of Pepero. The holiday is observed mostly by young people and couples, who exchange Pepero sticks, other candies, and romantic gifts. Lotte denies starting the holiday and instead states that they noticed a bump in Pepero sales around November 11th and after continued popularity they decided to then encourage the holiday with special gift boxes and other promotions. Some consider it to be a contrived

Hallmark holiday

"Hallmark holiday" is a disparaging term, used predominantly in the United States, to describe a holiday that is perceived to exist primarily for commercial purposes, rather than to commemorate a traditionally significant event...

 holiday and some teachers have encouraged children to exchange healthy snacks to help combat obesity. An alternative "Garaetteok

Garaetteok

Garaetteok is a variety of tteok or Korean rice cake, formed into a long white cylinder shape. It is made by pounding steamed rice flour, made mostly from non-glutinous rice. It is used in various Korean dishes such as the spicy tteokbokki and skewered tteok sanjeok. Thinly sliced garaetteok is...

Day" (sticks of white tteok

Tteok

Tteok is a class of Korean rice cakes made with glutinous rice flour , by steaming. Normal rice flour can be used for some kinds of tteok. There are hundreds of different kinds of tteok eaten year round...

) has been proposed.

According to one story, Pepero Day was started in 1994 by students at a girls' middle school

Middle school

Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...

 in Busan

Busan

Busan , formerly spelled Pusan is South Korea's second largest metropolis after Seoul, with a population of around 3.6 million. The Metropolitan area population is 4,399,515 as of 2010. It is the largest port city in South Korea and the fifth largest port in the world...

, where they exchanged Pepero sticks as gifts to wish one another to grow "as tall and slender as a Pepero".

In Japan, a similar Pocky Day was started; however, it has failed to gain traction.

External links

• Official Pepero Site (Korean)
• The Pepero Song+ flash
• Pepero Day sweet for food retailers (English)
• Sth Korea calendar laden with love (English)
• Big bucks in a youthful craze (English)
• Abundant `Special' Days Fatten Sales (English)