January 14th is Diary Day / Candle Day- Couples exchange journals or diaries to share wishes that the other will have a lovely year. Couples also exchange candles - something to do with staying warm in the cold weather...February 14th is Valentines Day - with a twist as this is the day where women buy chocolates for the men. Apparently they often deploy army trucks to deliver chocolates from girlfriends to the men who are in compulsory military service.
March 14th is White Day - where the men return the favour and buy chocolates for the women.
April 14th is Black Day - where those who haven't found love console their lonely hearts by eating black noodles - apparently many university students eat loads of these noodles hoping to meet a partner through this declaration of loneliness.
May 14th is Yellow Day / Rose Day - Those who are in love by this day exchange roses. There is also suggestion that singles should wear yellow to declare their single status...and therefore hopefully find a companion...or other single people to drown their sorrows with!
June 14th is Kiss Day - obviously celebrated by kissing! I have found a few resources that suggest that everyone kisses everyone on this day (e.g. kiss everyone you meet) and others that suggest that this is a couples day... I prefer to believe that this is a couple day and intend to slap any random person that attempts to kiss me!
This one is also quite interesting since kissing in public is taboo in this country...
July 14th is Silver Day - where couples exchange silver gifts... I am more of a gold girl so this one is a bit of a let down in my mind!
August 14th is Green Day - couples are supposed to dress in Green, walk in the woods and drink cheap liquor that comes in green bottles (this means soju...) though I have found a few links that suggest the couples are the ones enjoying the day and nature while it is only the single people that drink soju in order to drown their sorrows.
September 14th is photo day - where couples should take a picture of themselves together somewhere romantic and put it in a special place so it can be looked at all the time. There are also a few links that suggest that it is actually photo and music day...so the photo part is the same but the day must also end with couples in a No Rae Bang singing to each other to make their relationship public.
October 14th is wine day - where couples should enjoy a glass / bottle of wine together.
December 14th is hug day - where couples hug each other "to chase away the winter cold"...
There are a few extra's:
October 24th – Apple Day
The Korean word for apple is called ‘Sa-gwa’ (사과), also means to apologize. On this day, friends, family and couples give an apple to each other to apologize for past mistakes.
First snow day - couples are supposed to celebrate the coming of snow with a romantic date.
Christmas eve is apparently a couples night in Korea - but this makes sense given that the country is not built on Christianity like a lot of Western countries.
So.... the reason this is in the "could go either way list" is that if you are a part of a couple these continuous couple events may make you feel warm and fuzzy inside or give you cause for concern about the amount of money you are going to be spending on your significant other. If you are single your face will be constantly rubbed in that fact and you will be frequently reminded that you are, in fact, a little sad and pathetic for not being physically attached to someone at all times. But single people should not dispair! Their Korean co-workers will constantly try to set them up with completely innappropriate people and it is completely acceptable to drown your sorrows by drinking to the point where you are violently ill on the side of the street...so not all is lost!
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