It is a day where they sit around and wait for gifts--chocolate, jewelry, flowers and nice cards that profess how much they are loved and appreciated.
Many will assume the "they" in this story refers to women--that would be the wrong presumption because in South Korea Valentine's Day is when the men sit around and their women scurry to get the dinner reservations and flowers.
However (for the men reading this), before deciding to dump your girlfriend or wife and rush to the airport to board a plane to South Korea, Valentine's Day is one of the many holidays in the country:
Next up is March 14. Known as White Day, on this occasion men gift women with candy, according to CNN.
After White Day is Black Day on April 14. This is when downbeat singles who didn't receive any goodies head to local Chinese restaurants to commiserate over their loneliness while eating jjajyangmyeon, or "black noodles," reported CNN.
Valentine's Day is one of our top five days of the year," Chul-hyun Yoo, the public relations representative for CU convenience stores, told CNN. With 7,900 stores throughout the country, CU is the number one convenience store chain in South Korea, recording almost ₩3 trillion (US$2.8 billion) in total sales last year, stated CNN.
"You can tell what concerns women and men is different by comparing the sales of Valentine's Day and White Day," said Yoo. "Women tend to go for value for money, while men buy big, flashy baskets," reported CNN.
That might be true, but for tourists used to the western culture, seeing women in line to shower the men in their lives with affection is a sight to see.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
