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Black Day is an unofficial holiday for singles in Korea! We all know that Valentine’s Day is celebrated throughout the world every year on February 14th. But in Korea and a few other Asian countries, only girls give guys chocolates on Valentine’s Day and every March 14th guys give girls candy in return on the so-called White Day. Read more about White Day here.
Korea, having so many loved themed days, didn’t forget about the singles though! Following White Day, on April 14th singles can enjoy Black Day!
Learn more about Black Day in Korea with us in this article.
What do you do on Black Day?
During Black Day, single friends gather together. Some may wear black outfits and eat black-colored foods. The most popular thing to do, however, is to go out to eat or order in jajangmyeon!
Jajangmyeon is a popular cheap takeout meal in Korea. It’s a Korean-style Chinese hand-pulled noodle dish topped with a sauce made from chunjang (춘장). It usually includes chopped pork and vegetables or other meats. Jajangmyeon is served warm and ready to be mixed with your chopsticks.
Koreans love the flavor of jajangmyeon! So you can easily find convenience stores selling a variety of jajangmyeon flavored instant noodles.
However, in more recent times, people don’t only eat Jajangmyeon on this special day, but they also use to order dark chocolate cakes or black coffee. As long as your meal or drink looks extremely black, any food or drink is welcome.
What is the significance of Black Day?
The Korean government made up this day to continue the trend of having something to celebrate on the 14th of every month. It’s basically a third “day marketing” holiday for businesses to hold dating events, jajangmyeon-eating contests, and various other marketing campaigns. However, it’s not as popular as Valentine’s Day and some other loved themed days.
Black Day has become an occasion to gather with friends, to exchange gifts or to buy something new for ourselves.
In conclusion, Black Day is a Korean holiday where singles get together for some bonding and maybe even for a bowl of jajangmyeon! Have you ever celebrated being single or tried jajangmyeon before? Join us in Korea for your opportunity to experience Black Day firsthand.
See the video below for an explanation on what you do on this holiday:
[arve url=”https://youtu.be/cQKtpkrMVQI” title=”Black Day – Korea’s Singles’ Day (April 14th)” description=”Join Go! Go! Hanguk as we learn about Black Day in Korea! April 14th in Korea is called Black Day. It is a day for singles that don’t have a significant other or who didn’t receive anything on Valentine’s Day or White Day. Singles usually get together on Black Day and eat jjajangmyeon. Have you experienced Black Day in Korea?” upload_date=”2020-04-24″ thumbnail=”20190″ loop=”no” muted=”no” /]
We hope you enjoyed this article! For more information on Korean language and culture, keep following the Go! Go! Hanguk blog and do not hesitate to contact us about living and studying in Korea.
