Food Guide
Korean Food Celebration Days
Angelynn
October 16, 2023
Can you say that you know every Korean holiday? Well, if you don’t, I am going to tell you about some of them this week and where to get food from places that use shuttle for delivery and pickup. The holidays are Pepero Day (빼빼로 데이), Black Day (블랙데이), White Day (화이트데이), Chuseok (추석), Lunar New Year (설날), Dano (단오), and Samgyeopsal Day (삼겹살 데이). First let’s start off by talking about Pepero Day.
Pepero Day (빼빼로 데이)
Pepero Day (빼빼로 데이) is a fun and exciting holiday. It is an annual holiday that is celebrated on November 11th. This day has been celebrated since about 1997. They say that this became a holiday because of two girls in middle school who were friends and would also give each other their different Pepero sticks. Lotte Corporation made a big deal about Pepero candy that eventually became a big deal. Pepero Day is similar to Valentine’s Day, you will see a lot of couples coming together but it is a day for everyone. People tend to exchange tasty Pepero sticks with family, friends and their significant other. Pepero sticks are thin chocolate-covered cookie sticks.
They choose the date November 11th because of it being 11/11, the date that mirrors the Pepero sticks. The Pepero sticks are supposed to represent the numbers in the date. Lotte Corporation makes about 50% of their wholesale for their Pepero sticks on Pepero Day (빼빼로 데이). If you are looking to give a love one a gift for Pepero Day (빼빼로 데이) just go on Shuttle Delivery. Once you are on the site you can head to Next Day Grocery and find some delicious snacks in the snack part of Next Day Grocery that are just as good as Pepero sticks and even some chocolate for the chocolate lover in your family. Next Day Grocery has [Bread Garden] Choco stick DIY Set that is 9,900 won (7.39 US Dollars), and they also have [Munch] Biscuit Sticks for the price of 12,500 won (9.34 US Dollars). If you are not looking for a biscuit treat then you can always get chocolate. They have [GODIVA] Pearl Chocolate at the price of 13,800 won (10.30 US Dollars) and they also have an assortment of chocolate boxes named [Yves Thuries] Chocolate Box for 18,000 won (13.44 US Dollars). Now that we have learned about Pepero Day (빼빼로 데이) let’s move on to Black Day.
Black Day (블랙데이)
Black Day (블랙데이) is celebrated right after Valentine’s Day and White Day. Black Day is a day known for people who are single which is why it is also called “Single’s Day”. It is celebrated on April 14th. Two months after Valentine’s Day. Unlike some other holidays people do not receive gifts on Black Day. People tend to dress in all black and you tend to see a spike in black coffee sales too. A lot of people tend to eat jjajangmyeon (짜장면) on this day. Jjajangmyeon is noodles in a black bean sauce. Some companies may even hold jjajangmyeon eating contests. Jjajangmyeon is a comfort meal which is why people believe that single people eat it on that specific day to feel some comfort.
If you are like me and just do not really want to be outside on a day like this then you should head to Shuttle Delivery and order you some jjajangmyeon for delivery or pickup. If you are in the Pyeongtaek area, Shuttle Delivery has a restaurant called Sambuja Gyodong Jjamppong that sells jjajangmyeon for 8,000 won (5.97 US Dollars). They also have Gan-jjajangmyeon and Seafood Gan-jjajangmyeon. Gan-jjajangmyeon has pork while the sea food Gan-jjajangmyeon has seafood. Gan-jjajangmyeon is 10,000 won (7.47 US Dollars) and Seafood Gan-jjajangmyeon is 13,000 won (9.71 US Dollars).
Sambuja Gyodong Jjamppong
Operating Hours:
10:30-19:30 Tuesday-Sunday
Close on Mondays
Homepage:
Shuttle Delivery: Sambuja Gyodong Jjamppong
Address:
130-23 Dunpo-ro, Dunpo-myeon, Asan-si, Chungcheongnam-do
충남 아산시 둔포면 둔포로 130-23
White Day (화이트데이)
In 1978 White Day (화이트데이) became a national holiday in South Korea. White Day is just a month after Valentine’s Day. On Valentine’s Day women give men gifts like chocolate and on White Day (화이트데이) men give gifts to women such as chocolate, jewelry, and flowers. White Day is celebrated in Eastern Asian Countries such as Japan, South Korea, China, Twain, and Vietnam. The name “White Day” comes from the idea of giving out white-colored gifts. The meaning behind this is that white symbolizes purity, sweetness, and a start to a new day. It is also known as “Answer Day” because of the men giving gifts back to the women. The day has become just as important as Valentine’s Day and is an important day for a lot of businesses especially businesses that sale chocolate, and gift shops that promote and sell items just for White Day (화이트데이).
When looking for food items for White Day (화이트데이) Shuttle Delivery has just what you need at Next Day Grocery. As I said before you can find sweets like chocolate, cookies, and even cake if you like here at Shuttle Delivery. You can order [Fazer] Finnish Signature Chocolate for 14,500 won (10.84 US Dollars), [Pasquier] Macarons Gourmands for a price of 13,200 won (9.87 US Dollars), and you can purchase a whole cake for 43,000 won (32.14 US Dollars). After learning about all these lovey dovey holidays, let me tell you about a holiday that is all about spending time with your loved ones.
Chuseok (추석)
Chuseok is known as the Korean Thanksgiving. It is a huge holiday here in South Korea similar to Thanksgiving in the United States. The holiday is celebrated for three days in the fall according to the Lunar Calendar, so either in September or October. Most people travel back home for the holiday to the head of the family, usually being the grandparents’ home. People tend to go back home outside of large cities like Seoul for the three days. Families often hold a ritual on this day to pay their respects to their ancestors by having a memorial table and an offering of food and drinks. There is always a large gathering of family, delicious foods to eat, and sometimes gift giving. When you give a gift during Chuseok, if you even give a gift, it is for the family that is hosting Chuseok.
There are some popular eats that people enjoy at this time of the year and they are Songpyeon (송편), Japchae (잡채), Jeon (전), and Galbijjim (갈비찜). Songpyeon (송편) is a Korean rice cake that is traditionally filled with red beans, sesames seeds, or chestnuts. Songpyeon (송편) are made the night before Chuseok. It is said that if someone makes wonderfully half-moon shaped Songpyeon (송편) they will have a happy marriage and give birth to a beautiful child. Japchae (잡채) is a noodle dish that has a soy sauce flavor with mushrooms, onion, carrot, spinach, and sometimes beef. Jeon (전) is a Korean pancake that is made with fish, zucchini, and sweet potato that is coated with egg and flour. Then the Jeon (전) is pan-fried. Galbijjim (갈비찜) is essentially braised beef with mixed vegetables. It is really good when it comes with rice. Some of these foods that people eat for Chuseok can be found on the Shuttle Delivery app.
Lunar New Year (설날)
The Korean Lunar New Year (설날) is a very special holiday in South Korea. The holiday is held for several days. Each country has their own way of celebrating the Lunar New Year but in South Korea people gather with their families, eat traditional foods, play folk games, and perform Korean traditional rituals. Just like during Chuseok (추석) the ancestral rite is very important. During this time the younger generation performs a deep bow to their elders and in return the elders sometimes give the younger family members a blessing or a money envelope.
When families gather, they eat a special meal called Tteokguk (떡국). Tteokguk is a soup made with rice cake and often has meat and seaweed in the soup.
In the past you would only eat tteokguk during the New Year but now you can find it at any restaurant like, Bukchon Hand-made Dumpling on Shuttle. They have Bukchon Tteok-guk for 8,500 won (6.37 US Dollars). After talking about Lunar New Year (설날), we have to talk about Dano (단오).
Bong Sikdang
Operating Hours:
11:00-19:15 Monday-Sunday
Closed on Thursdays
Homepage:
Shuttle Delivery: Bukchon Hand-made Dumpling
Address:
Wow Sanro 116-1
와우산로 116-1
Dano (단오)
Dano (단오) is celebrated every 5th day of the 5th month in the lunar calendar. Most of the time it is during June. Dano (단오) is known as one of the most important holidays like Chuseok (추석), and Lunar New Year (설날). Dano can date back all the way to ancient times celebrating the arrival of summer doing shamanistic rituals. During Dano people wish for a good harvest after planting crops. They also dress up in hanbok as a way to show respect to their ancestors. This is the time of the year where people connect with nature and their ancestors.
A lot of communities come together to enjoy traditional performances, traditional foods, and dancing. You can find people eating jeon (전), and surichwi tteok during this holiday. A restaurant that has several different jeon (전) is Original Mapo Grandma Bindaetteok. They have some with various types of seafood and some with meat. Their best one on the Shuttle app is their Spicy Garlic Chives Jeon. It is made with garlic chives and spicy cheongyang chili peppers. The cost for this one is 14,000 won (10.48 US Dollars) while the rest are at price from 17,000 won (12.73 US Dollars) to 20,000 won (14.98 US Dollars). The finally holiday we are going to talk about is Samgyeopsal Day (삼겹살 데이).
Original Mapo Grandma Bindaetteok
Operating Hours:
13:00-22:30 Monday-Sunday
Homepage:
Shuttle Delivery: Original Mapo Grandma Bindaetteok
Address:
23 Mallijae-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul (1st floor No. 5)
서울특별시 마포구 만리재로 23 (1층 5호)
Samgyeopsal Day (삼겹살 데이)
Samgyeopsal Day (삼겹살 데이) also known as pork belly day is on March 3rd. This has been a holiday for 20 years in South Korea. This day was created in order to help pig farmers who were in desperate need of getting rid of their pigs. Back in 2003 Paju Yeoncheon Livestook Corporation created the holiday. Ever since then on March 3rd there are discount sales on pork belly and large events held every year. The price of pork belly in South Korea has risen so much since 2019.
If you feel like eating pork belly on March 3rd or any other day you can find some at Ddaddi Pork Belly House (Ewha). They offer quality pork belly. They have several pork belly meals. Their two best pork belly meals on Shuttle are Pork Belly Dosirak and Pork Belly Meat Only. Pork Belly Dosirak comes with pork belly, kimchi, handmade ssamjang Sauce, and a bowl of rice for 10,000 won (7.49 US Dollars). The Pork Belly Meat Only meal comes with pork belly, kimchi, and handmade ssamjang sauce at 14,000 won (10.48 US Dollars).
Ddaddi Pork Belly House (Ewha)
Operating Hours
11:00-15:00 Monday, Wednesday-Sunday
16:00-21:00
Homepage:
Shuttle Delivery: Ddaddi Pork Belly House
Address:
15, Ewha Womans University 7-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
서울특별시 서대문구 이화여대7길 15
Summary
After learning about all these holidays, which one do you think would be your favorite or is already your favorite? What kind of food would you enjoy on your favorite holiday? I love any holiday where I can spend time with my family, enjoy delicious food and of course give gifts to them. I think it is wonderful that every country and every culture has their own holidays and favorite ways of celebrating those holidays. I hope this blog did not make you too hungry but if it did and you are in South Korea go on the Shuttle App and find something tasty to eat in your neighborhood. Thanks again for reading my blog.
