by Grace Shin, News Writer

In Korea, Feb. 14 isn’t the only day to express one’s affection; White Day and Black Day are additionally packaged in these seasons of love.

Senior, Brian Lee mentioned, “In the states we only celebrate Valentines Day. I haven’t been in Korea for long, so I don’t know much about White Day except that it’s a day where girls give candies to guys. On Valentines Day it’s guys giving chocolates to girls. For Black Day, I know it’s a day for single people to cry and weep.”

Junior, Jane Shin agreed, “Black Day is a day for singles. I do nothing, I don’t even know when Black Day is. I think there are several Black Days : like on Nov. 11, the elevens look like the noodles of black bean noodles (JjaJjangmyeon) eaten on April for the singles. But I do know that Black Day is single-awareness day. You are eating JjaJjangmyeon by yourself!”

Eating JjaJjangmyeon on Black Day is supposed to represent ones sorrows of being single, since the noodles are covered in black sauce, symbolizing loneliness.

Mr. Montgomery asked, “On Black Day, are people celebrating their singleness? Or are they mourning the lack of love in their lives?”

Students had miscellaneous insights on Valentines Day.

Sophomore, Justine Hong does not celebrate this day, but said, “I really like the idea.It’s good to have a chance for couples to express their love and just even friendship. Plus, I like the idea of giving out candy and chocolate because I love chocolate.”

Junior, Davin Park also has a positive outlook on this day. “I think Valentines Day is really an amazing day for guys and girls to express their love and feelings. It is not  just about giving out chocolates, but a day for something special that you can not even describe. It’s a day to build a stronger relationship between human beings.

Junior, Monica Kim. has celebrated Valentines Day every year with her family. “I give chocolates to my Dad every year. This year I gave him a chocolate box and he really liked it. He finished it right away. You feel good once you give out something, because it is like giving out love to your family.”

When Monica was asked why she was committed to keeping her annual routine she answered, “It’s just following what everyone is doing. It’s not a culture, but everyone tends to do it every year. It’s just a happy day to give out chocolates to your family members. Even though you don’t have a boyfriend, you have family members like you Dad or your brother.”

Mr. Jonathan Montgomery, DP English Teacher had some different standpoints on Valentines Day. “Well, my mother wrote a message on Valentines Day. She said, ‘I hope everyone enjoys another Hallmark created holiday.’ She sees it as a day that was just made up by some few people [Hallmark Corporation] to sell stuff.”

Senior, Monica Cho  does not celebrate Valentines Day, either. “It’s just a regular day for me. Honestly those days seem to me as if they are days to give production companies money while in daily life we can just tell people ‘hey i love you’ or ‘you look great’. Through that you can tell them that you love them. It’s just that you don’t need a certain day to give them a certain object to tell them such things. So I don’t celebrate them.

Mr. Montgomery had corresponding opinions, “It’s nice to have a chance to say, ‘hey let’s remember the people we appreciate or love.’ But really we all shouldn’t wait for one day of the year to do that. We should be doing that all the time. I think that’s perhaps why Valentines Day gives people a misguided sense of what it means to appreciate the people you love.”

However, he did find it to be a good opportunity for secret admirers to be revealed. “Without being too obvious, a guy can show a girl that he likes her, on this day, because it is expected. On the other days, he has to build a great deal of more courage in order to be able to do something for a girl.”

Mr. Montgomery added, “I think these love holidays are really cool, though. I feel like people sometimes need excuses to just have fun. Having customs that surround certain types of fun, is a really good idea. And it gives people who aren’t dating anyone opportunities to go out and do things, because it’s sort of their day. It’s not odd or strange or anything that they are doing it. They get to have fun. I would have celebrated Black Day or White Day if I were at school in Korea.”