Joseon taffy's sweet history

A young candy peddler has his shears in hand, circa early 20th century. Robert Neff Collection

For many Koreans, Nov. 11 is Pepero Day, a fairly recent unofficial celebration that Wikipedia claims is similar to Valentine’s Day. On this day, friends and family exchange Pepero (long, thin cookie sticks covered with chocolate) as a show of affection.

According to some sources, Pepero Day owes it genesis to a girls’ middle school in 1993 (although Wikipedia claims it was 1983). Somewhat paradoxically, students exchanged the chocolate snacks with one another in hopes they would become as tall and thin as the Pepero.

Some of the other popular candy days in Korea are:

Valentine’s Day (Feb. 14) which, according to some, was introduced into Korea from Japan in the 1980s. This introduction seems somewhat ironic considering the date’s dark significance in Korean-Japanese relations.

White Day (March 14) also owes its origin to Japan which started out in 1978 as Marshmallow Day and by the early 1980s was celebrated in Korea as well as other Asian countries.

The popularity of candy in Korea is somewhat surprising considering that in 1890, Lillias Underwood, an American missionary, declared Korea was a land without sugar and very few sweets. She explained that there were “no jams, jellies, cakes, pies, tarts or puddings [and, of course,] no ice cream or cream sodas.” The only real sweet available was a “delicious buckwheat honey” which she frequently used as a substitute when her own supply of sugar ran low.

According to her, affluent Koreans purchased “Chinese preserves and candied fruits” in the handful of foreign stores at the open ports and Seoul. The only foreign candies available were “bottled lemon drops and nauseous Japanese candies.”

Thus, she and the other Western women in Seoul were forced to make their own “fancy candies” which included “chocolate creams, caramels, candied oranges and figs.”

A young lad hopes to sell his sweets to customers on the street, circa 1911. Robert Neff Collection

However, judging from later diaries, correspondences and articles, by the mid-1890s, the foreign shops in Korea were selling chocolates and sweets imported from Russia, the United States, Japan and Europe. These sweets were very popular gifts but were extremely expensive.

Korea has its own traditional candy (yeot). In 1884, one American naval officer described it as being “made of honey, with or without nuts” while later missionaries said it was made from molasses. Actually there are several regional types of this candy and it was quite popular with the Korean population. It was sold at market stalls, in the streets and at various gatherings by the ubiquitous candy vendors who were easily identified by the constant click of their shears.

According to Underwood:

“Foreigners however do not patronize the native candy sellers very much, for when we look at the dirty fingers that make it, and the dirty places where it is manufactured we lose our appetite, and ask to be excused.”

In 1902, the wife of a British mining expert echoed Underwood’s sentiments when she wrote the candy “looked so nice that I should have liked to have eaten some myself, but I refrained – I have seen the manufactories!”

Even in the 1920s the candy both attracted foreigners with its taste and appearance and repelled them with the less-than-hygienic manner in which it was manufactured and sold. Muriel Morris recalled:

“On the dirty streets, there would be candy sellers on street corners. They had a tray with straps going up over their shoulders, and the candy was malt taffy. It was good, I loved it. But it was just exposed to the dust and the dirt blowing around. When they made it, they spit on their hands so it wouldn't stick to them when they pulled it. Then it was rolled in sesame seeds. We used to buy it once in a while and re-cook it to kill the germs.”

It might be somewhat surprising to learn that this Korean candy had an important role in public health. The earlier mentioned naval officer described the methods of smallpox inoculation. One method was to apply powdered scabs (taken from a smallpox patient who survived their bout) to a piece of cotton and then “introduce it into the nostrils” of the child. Another method [was] to mix the powdered crust with candy and thus get it into the stomach.”

Life for a candy peddler was not easy – especially with the introduction of foreign candies. The profit made after a long day of hustling was, for the most part, small – only enough to sustain himself but not enough for a family. Yet, despite the increasing challenges to their livelihood, candy peddlers remained a part of society.

When war disrupted the production of many extravagances – including candy – children found their sweet fix in other sources. During the Korean War, Fred Dustin, an American soldier, recalled Korean children would rush up to him and hold out their hands asking ― in their limited English ― for chocolate bars and Chuckles (a jelly candy that came in five flavors: lime, licorice, lemon and, the most popular, cherry).

“[Only] God knows how much gum, chocolate and Chuckles were handed out [but] we [soldiers] always had our field-jacket pockets stuffed with those commodities!”

Whether as a tasty treat of guilty self-indulgence, a present for friends and family or as a tool for inoculation, candy has had a sweet history in Korea.

Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books, including Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.