Student Blog

2min read

Winter is the season when people long for touch. College girls talk about their love lives. December has Christmas, February has Valentine’s Day, and in March, comes White Day. In recent years, Valentine's Day in Japan is not only by giveing “giri” and “honmei” chocolates to one's lover, but has taken various forms, such as buying chocolates for yourself and chocolates for friends. April, however, is not known as a month for romantic events. My Korean friend, Daisy, told me about an interesting part of Korean culture. There is a holiday called Black Day in which singles come together dressed in black clothing and eat black noodles called jajangmyeon. It is said to have originated in South Korea, and it is on April 14th.

Daisy (left) and author (right) at a Korean restaurant in Beppu. Unfortunately, there was no jajangmyeon on that day, so we had other delicious foods instead.

Usually, jajangmyeon is eaten at home and shops don’t give discounts on jajangmyeon on April 14, so it’s not such a popular holiday in Korea. However, in Japan, there seems to be gokons and discounts if you wear black clothes at Korean restaurants held in connection with the Korean Black Day.

This year on April 14, I think I will take a visit to my local Korean restaurant.

YANG EUIJUNG
(Nickname: Daisy)
College of Asia Pacific Studies 1st year
Korea

(Published in the morning edition of the Oita Godo Shimbun on February 28, 2023)

Mai Koizumi

My nickname is Maimai! I thought I had just entered the school, but the next thing I knew I was already a sophomore. I'm RA at AP House! I'm looking forward to taking on a lot of challenges this year! I'll do my best!