girl power?

yeong hui (the name in the heart) doesn't have to worry about black day

Just in case single people don't have enough reminders that our lives are empty and worthless (moony couples everywhere in matching outfits, constant nagging about marriage and boyfriends, couple sets in restaurants and coffee shops, Pepero Day, Christmas, Valentine's Day, White Day, Rose Day, Yellow Day, Kiss Day...the list goes on), Koreans came up with Black Day to really hammer the point home. On April 14th, all of us poor, sad sack single people are supposed to go eat 짜장면 (black bean noodles) and think about how we are single and unloved and our lives have no meaning. That's the whole holiday...just single people eating noodles and feeling miserable. And it's no joke either...when I asked Kibbeum what she was doing that weekend, she looked at me sadly and said, "It is Black Day. I have no boyfriend. I will eat 짜장면 and cry."












On the fateful day, I found myself in Cheonan with a group of single ETA females (well, except for Laura, but we made her pretend). We decided that as cultural ambassadors, we had an obligation to experience Black Day in the proper Korean manner...and ate our black bean noodles and felt extremely depressed (see pictures). During our lunch, the restaurant gradually filled with groups of people, mostly girls and young women (although they acted like normal people--no crying or carrying on).

When I got home the next day, my host mom checked to make sure I had eaten my 짜장면. "Good," she said in response to my nodding. "You should remember that you have no boyfriend. Then you will have more energy/power in finding a boyfriend."

This country is desperately in need of some Anu Sharma.