Pepero Day in Korea: What November 11 Means, Who Gives What, and How to Join In
Pepero Day is an unofficial Korean celebration held every November 11, when people give boxes of Pepero, Lotte's thin chocolate-dipped biscuit sticks, to friends, classmates, co-workers and partners, because the date 11/11 looks like four sticks standing in a row. It is not a public holiday and it is not only for couples. The same date is also Farmers' Day, which the government has promoted as Garaetteok Day since 2006.
What Is Pepero Day?
Pepero Day (빼빼로데이, ppae-ppae-ro de-i) falls on November 11 every year. The idea is visual before it is anything else: write the date as 11/11 and you get four thin vertical strokes, which look a lot like four sticks of Pepero, the chocolate-dipped biscuit snack Lotte has made since 1983. On that day, people in Korea hand each other boxes of Pepero, sometimes one box with a note, sometimes a whole bag for an office or a classroom.
It helps to know what Pepero Day is not. It is not a public holiday, so banks, shops, schools and offices run as usual. It is not a religious or traditional festival. And despite the hearts on the packaging, it is not a strictly romantic day either. Think of it as a small, sweet excuse to say "I thought of you," open to almost any relationship.
In 2026, November 11 falls on a Wednesday, which means the giving happens in the middle of a normal school and work week. That is when the custom is easiest to spot: boxes on desks, boxes in backpacks, boxes passed across a cafe table.
Where Pepero Day Came From
Ask in Korea and you will usually hear the same story: schoolgirls in the Yeongnam region, the southeast of the country, swapped Pepero on November 11 and wished each other to grow tall and slim like the stick. Nobody has pinned down the exact school or year, and it is safer to treat it as a much-loved origin story rather than a documented fact.
What is documented is the timing. The Korea Times traced the earliest press mention of Pepero Day to a November 1996 article, which described the date as a playful custom among teenage girls in North Gyeongsang Province. Lotte began using the name Pepero Day the following year, handing out free boxes in big cities. A company official told the paper, "It is not a culture created at the company level." In other words, the day started with students, and the brand noticed and amplified it.
That mix of grassroots habit and marketing is exactly why the day draws debate in Korea every autumn. Some see it as clever commerce, others as a harmless ritual of affection. Both readings are fair, and both are part of the story. What matters for a visitor is simpler: three decades on, the custom belongs to the people who keep doing it.
Who Gives Pepero to Whom
Couples do exchange Pepero, and for some it is a small anniversary of its own. But the day is much wider than romance. Students hand boxes to classmates and club friends. Co-workers leave a box on a neighbor's keyboard or bring a bag of mini packs to share with the team. Friends trade flavors. Parents tuck one into a child's lunch bag. Plenty of people buy a box for themselves, and nobody finds that strange.
The quiet subtext is courage. A box of Pepero costs little, which makes it a low-risk way to tell someone you appreciate them, or that you like them a little more than that. Lotte Wellfood's campaign films with Stray Kids, the group the company named Pepero's global ambassador in 2025, lean straight into this feeling: this year's ads, built around the line "Don't hesitate on Pepero Day," are set in a school and an office, the two places where most boxes actually change hands.
If you are visiting, the etiquette is relaxed. There is no obligation to give back on the spot, no expected price level and no wrong recipient. A box handed over with a smile and a simple "Happy Pepero Day" is the whole ritual.
Garaetteok Day: The Rice-Cake Side of 11/11
November 11 carries a second, older meaning in Korea. It is Farmers' Day (농업인의 날), a statutory commemorative day established in 1996. The date comes from a piece of character wordplay: the Chinese character for soil, 土, can be read as the strokes of 十 (ten) over 一 (one), so "soil month, soil day" becomes the 11th of the 11th month, a nod to farmers who live by the land.
Since 2006, Korea's agriculture ministry has promoted the same date as Garaetteok Day, encouraging people to share garaetteok, the long white cylinders of rice cake made from freshly harvested rice. The shape echoes 11/11 just as neatly as a Pepero stick, and the message is gratitude for the year's harvest and a nudge toward eating more local rice. You will see it in school cafeterias, local government events and some rice cake shops, which set out grilled or honey-dipped garaetteok around the date.
Garaetteok Day has never matched Pepero Day's visibility, but the two sit together comfortably, and many Koreans simply enjoy both. If you love Korea's rice cake culture, from the half-moon songpyeon of Chuseok to the sliced rice cake in New Year soup, 11/11 is a good excuse to try garaetteok warm off a grill, dipped in honey or a little sugar.
What You'll See in Stores This November
You do not need to look for Pepero Day; it finds you. From the end of October, convenience stores push Pepero displays to the front door, often in towers or pyramid stacks, with gift boxes, character tie-ins and bundle deals arranged around them. Supermarkets, stationery shops and even some cafes join in. If you have read our Korean convenience store food guide, picture the snack aisle spilling out onto the sidewalk.
For this season, Lotte Wellfood announced ten Pepero Day packages in mid-October. They include two Stray Kids editions (Almond and White Cookie), four Sanrio Characters packs featuring Hello Kitty, Pochacco, Cinnamoroll and Hangyodong, a Ganadi assorted five-pack, and three gift-oriented sets: a six-flavor Sampler, a box-shaped Carrier and a Gift six-pack. Pepero Double Rich Salty Vanilla, a limited flavor from earlier in the year, also returns for the season. The company has said it will focus some of its Pepero Day marketing on major tourist areas, so visitors may run into campaign booths as well as shelves.
Store chains run their own promotions in the weeks before November 11, such as bundle prices, card-payment discounts or gift-with-purchase events. These change by chain and by year, so check the signs in the store rather than planning around a specific deal. A standard box is an inexpensive snack, usually around 2,000 won or less at a convenience store, while character sets and gift boxes cost more.
Pepero Day Gift Ideas, From One Box to Homemade
The classic gift is still the easiest place to start: one box, a short handwritten note, done. Original chocolate, Almond and Crunky are the familiar choices, and Nude, with the chocolate filled inside the stick, suits people who prefer a lighter sweetness. For a group, mini packs or a multi-flavor sampler let everyone pick a favorite.
Many people in Korea go one step further and make their own. Homemade Pepero is simple: dip plain biscuit sticks in melted chocolate, add sprinkles, nuts or a drizzle of a second color, and let them set on parchment. Budget shops sell everything you need in early November, from sticks and coating chocolate to clear bags and ribbons; our Daiso Korea shopping guide explains how the aisles work. A handful of decorated sticks in a clear sleeve reads as more personal than any shop box.
A few other ideas travelers like: pair a box with a takeaway coffee for a host, guide or hotel staff member; tuck a few mini packs into your bag for a day of meeting people; or bring home a limited-edition box as a souvenir that is easy to pack. If the person you are thinking of prefers savory, a pack of warm garaetteok from a rice cake shop honors the other side of the date just as well.
Sori's Note
The part of Pepero Day that interests me most is not the snack but the price. A gift this small removes the usual weight of giving. Nobody has to wonder whether it is too much, and nobody owes anything back. That is a rare kind of freedom, and it explains why students and office workers, not couples, carry the day.
So if you happen to be in Korea on November 11, treat a box less as candy and more as a sentence you are allowed to say out loud. Most people will laugh, thank you, and remember it.
