On November 11th, Chadwick students filled the hallways holding paper bags filled with Peperos, neatly packaged in their colorful cardboard boxes.
Peperos are now a famed snack in Korea, well-known for the signature thin breadsticks coated with chocolate and a variety of other toppings ranging from almonds, cookies and cream, and crunkies.
Not long after Peperos was first launched in Korea by Lotte Well Food, the company observed an abnormal increase in its snack sales around early November. From the first week of November, many had begun to look for this signature treat.
November 11th, when marked on the calendar, was 11/11. Quite coincidentally, because these Peperos — with its tall, stick-like shape — resembled the numbers, several groups, like schools, hagwons (Korean academies), and other companies had begun to distribute free Peperos on this date.
After Lotte noticed this, they designated November 11th as what they would advertise, “Pepero Day.” And according to a Seoul-based newspaper publisher “Newsis,” half of the company’s annual profits are gained between the namesake “Pepero Day Season,” between September to November.
As Lotte realized the significance of “Pepero Day” it advanced as a highly profitable marketing tactic that began to expand to other companies.
The Korean-based snack company Haetae partnered with the Japanese snack company Glico to advertise “Pocky” as their “Pepero-Day” treat, benefiting from the similarly elongated stick-like shapes of the Pocky snacks.
Since then, both Pepero and the Pocky have become must-eat treats to celebrate November 11th. Some Koreans even began a new tradition of homemade Pepero delights the days preceding Pepero Day and the day of.
And of course, Chadwick was not an exception.
After surveying a few Chadwick students, we gained some insight on making homemade Peperos, most prominently shared by V. Yang (‘28).
“Prepare several long breadsticks, a chocolate (either milk, white, or dark), and some toppings of your choice (Violet recommends dried strawberry bits). Place the chocolate in a glass bowl and melt them in the microwave for around 60 seconds. Briefly dip about two-thirds of the breadstick into the chocolate, and place the coated stick on a large tray. After some time, sprinkle your toppings on your Pepero.”
Violet this year — instead of buying Peperos from the companies — handmade these treats as gifts for her friends.
Some Chadwick students have even used Peperos to propose to a long-held crush.
So, whether it be for friendship, showing gratitude to teachers, or even love, Pepero Day has now moved beyond a simple marketing tactic. Perhaps Peperos will persist — especially for the innate sweet tooths like this reporter herself — as a delightful symbol to compensate for the humdrum of an otherwise passing school day at Chadwick.