Jo Hyun Jae

 

(Text recycled from last year: information hasn’t changed.  Flowers are new, though.  Happy White Valentine to all JHJ fans!)

White Day is a holiday celebrated on March 14, one month after Valentine’s Day. In Japan this is a widespread holiday, much like Valentine’s Day. It is also observed in South Korea. 

In Japan, Valentine’s Day is observed by females who present chocolate gifts (either store-bought or handmade), usually to a male, as an expression of love. The handmade chocolate is usually preferred by the receiver, because it is a sign that the receiving male is the girl’s “only one”. On White Day, the converse happens: males who received a “honmei-choco” (chocolate of love) or “giri-choco” (chocolate of courtesy) on Valentine’s Day are expected to return the favour by giving gifts, usually more expensive. Traditionally, popular White Day gifts are white chocolate, lingerie, cookies, marshmallows as well as jewelry and stuffed animals. Sometimes the term “sanbai gaeshi” (literally, “thrice the return”) is used to describe the general rule that the return gift should be two to three times the cost of the Valentine’s gift.

White Day is also observed in South Korea, with an additional later Black Day observed for those sharing singleness. Black Day (April 14) is a South Korean informal tradition for single people to get together and eat “jajangmyeon” (noodles with black bean sauce.) Sometimes a white sauce is mixed for those who did not celebrate White Day.

Our Jo Hyun-Jae received so many chocolates on Valentine’s Day, and they must all be “honmei-choco” (chocolate of love). Will he return the favour on White Day? Wonder which lucky girl has received a White Valentine from JHJ.

(Information from Wikipedia)