Korea doesn't do Halloween. Well, that isn't true...I mean they know what it is. And some stores will sell costumes for the kids who go to English private schools.English Private Schools, like the one the Hubby works at, celebrate Halloween. They do big ALL day events. And there are a FEW very very very Halloween parties at certain foreign bars( bars arketed or frequented by the foreigner community). But my friends and I are the only ones who dress up (I won second place in the costume contest last weekend. Thank you very much for the bottle of Jaeger!! We drank it well) In the foreign area in Seoul, there is a HUGE costume parade.
BUT keep in mind, I live in a very rich suburb that is known for it's amazing schools. And Seoul is like New York...it is very international. With that being typed, most places in Korea do not do Halloween. People know what it is from movies and tv, but they don't celebrate it.
Starbuck's does not have pumpkin lattes or pumpkin flavored coffee here. We can get candy here but if you love Reese's Peanut Butter Cups or Sour Patch Kids, you are SOL. You can find pumpkin flavored things but that is more traditional foods. Like pumpkin rice porridge (I love this and promise to write a blog about this soon), it is a creamy blended soup of rice and pumpkin but it does not make me think of Halloween the way pumpkin shaped sugar cookies do!!! And some places even decorate...mostly the western restaurants and chain stores.
The leaves are falling...winter is coming...but there is no real Halloween. No cute kids in costumes running around or scary music playing. No onslaught of horror movies playing on TV and at the movie theaters.
So what is a lonely American to do??
Get together with her friends and dress up!!! We will get crazy looks! But that is nothing new. In a country full of Asian people, the pasty Americans like me STAND out.
WIsh us luck as we bravely venture out in costumes!!! We will probably be the only ones!!!
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