Pocky Day vs Pepero Day: What Is the Difference?

Same Date, Same Sticks, Two Countries

Every November 11, two countries celebrate a stick-shaped snack day. Japan has Pocky Day for Glico's Pocky. South Korea has Pepero Day for Lotte's Pepero. From the outside they look like twins. Up close, they are cousins at best — different brands, different stories, different flavours. Here is the honest comparison.

The Basics Side by Side

• Pocky Day: Japan, November 11, made official by Ezaki Glico in 1999. Covers Pocky and Pretz.
• Pepero Day: South Korea, November 11, centred on Lotte's Pepero. It spread through the 1990s, famously among school students.
• Shared idea: 11/11 looks like four snack sticks, and gifting sticks on that date shows affection or friendship.

Our Pocky Day homepage covers the Japanese celebration in full. This post focuses on how the two days differ.

Different Origins

Pocky Day has a company birthday. Glico created it in 1999 — Heisei 11 — and had it registered as an official commemorative day. The date was chosen by the brand, on purpose, with the era year lining up. You can read that story in our post on the history of Pocky Day and why 1999 mattered.

Pepero Day grew from the ground up. The popular story traces it to schoolgirls in Busan in the 1990s who exchanged Pepero sticks on November 11, wishing each other tall and slim figures like the sticks. Lotte later embraced and promoted the day, but it began as a student custom, not a company launch. That difference still shows: Pepero Day feels like a schoolyard tradition that went national, while Pocky Day feels like a brand celebration that fans adopted as their own.

Different Snacks

Pocky sticks are thin, with most of the biscuit dipped in chocolate and a plain handle left clean at the end. Pepero sticks are similar in spirit but come in their own range — the classic is a biscuit stick coated in chocolate, and Lotte sells many filled and topped varieties, including a nude style with the filling inside the stick.

Flavour ranges differ too. Pocky's gift favourites include matcha and Almond Crush, while Pepero has its own local hits that you will rarely find outside Korea. If you are shopping for the Japanese day, our guide to the best Pocky flavours to gift covers the picks that travel well.

Different Mood

In Korea, Pepero Day is often compared to a mini Valentine's Day. Couples exchange sticks, shops build huge displays, and the gifting carries a romantic tint, especially among students and young couples. In Japan, Pocky Day is more playful than romantic — friends, classmates and coworkers swap boxes, play the Pocky game, and post stick photos. Both are affectionate, but the flavour of the affection differs.

How Big Is Each Day at Home?

In Korea, Pepero Day is a major retail event. Convenience stores and supermarkets build large displays weeks ahead, bakeries sell Pepero-themed treats, and Lotte's sales spike hard around November 11. Surveys in Korea regularly rank it among the most recognised gift days of the year for young people.

In Japan, Pocky Day is big in a different way — louder online than in-store. The photo culture drives it: stick towers, 11:11 screenshots, and campaign hashtags trend every year, while shops run smaller, neater displays. Both days move a lot of chocolate. They just spend their energy in different places.

Can You Celebrate Both?

Plenty of people do, especially fans of both Japanese and Korean pop culture. There is no conflict in it — the snacks are different, the brands are different, and a box of each on November 11 covers both traditions at once. Just do not hand a Korean friend a Pocky box and call it Pepero, or a Japanese friend a Pepero box and call it Pocky. The names matter to the people who grew up with them.

So, Are They the Same Holiday?

No. They share a date and a visual joke, and that is about where the overlap ends. Different countries, different companies, different origin stories and different snacks. Neither copied the other in any simple way — two snack cultures looked at 11/11 and saw the same four sticks.

Whichever one you celebrate, the recipe is the same: a box of sticks, someone you like, and November 11. Enjoy both if you can — nobody says you have to pick a side.