Pepero Day 2026 in Korea: Limited Editions & Where to Buy

Walk into any Korean convenience store in early November and the entrance looks different. Towers of gift boxes, character keyrings clipped to shelf edges, bags of chocolate sticks stacked at the till. None of it is for Halloween.

It is for 빼빼로데이 Pepero Day, and in 2026 it lands on a Wednesday. Here is what the day means, what the 2026 packs look like, and where to find them before they disappear.

What is Pepero Day, and why November 11?

Pepero Day is the day Koreans give each other Pepero, Lotte’s chocolate-dipped biscuit sticks, and it falls on November 11 because the date’s four 1s look like four sticks. Pepero itself has been around since 1983.

Lotte Wellfood’s own account is short: in the mid-1990s, middle- and high-school girls in the Yeongnam region (the southeast, around Busan and Daegu) started giving friends Pepero on November 11, with the wish to grow “tall and slim” like the snack. Reporting fills in more detail, though the versions don’t fully match. The Korea Times traced the first newspaper mention to November 1996, about teenage girls in North Gyeongsang Province. Other Korean outlets put the start in Busan in 1994. Most agree on one point: a Lotte sales team in the region noticed orders jumping every November and reported it to headquarters, and the company only then began promoting the day. A Lotte official told The Korea Times it “is not a culture created at the company level.”

Today it is a straightforwardly commercial day. It is not a public holiday, and nobody gets the day off. What changes is who gives what to whom:

• Students hand out single boxes to classmates. With November 11 on a Wednesday this year, expect classrooms to be busy.
• Coworkers leave boxes on desks, often bought in bulk.
• Friends trade the character editions and the keyrings that come with them.
• Couples go bigger, with gift sets, baskets or a handmade version.

If you want the wider picture, our guides cover Korea’s monthly 14th “days”, why couples count 100 and 1,000 days and what Koreans in their 20s and 30s actually gift.

What are the Pepero Day 2026 limited editions?

Lotte Wellfood released 10 seasonal packages for 2026, seven of them character tie-ins, according to MTN and other outlets reporting on material provided by the company. Lotte had not posted a separate release about the packages in its own newsroom as of October 28.

🎁 Pepero Day 2026 seasonal packages (as reported by MTN, October 14, 2026)

Two more things to know this season:

• Pepero Double Rich Salty Vanilla. Lotte launched it in spring 2026 as the brand’s first premium line, with Madagascar vanilla bean and Andean lake salt and about 4.6 times the sweet coating of a regular Pepero. It sold as a limited run, and MTN reports it returns for Pepero Day.
• A gift with purchase. MTN reports that spending ₩30,000 or more on Pepero gets you either a Stray Kids tarpaulin bag and keyring or a Ganadi mirror. The report doesn’t say which stores take part or how long stock lasts, so ask at the counter.

Retailers also make their own exclusive packs. Lotte said in 2025 that each sales channel would carry channel-only editions, which is why the shelves at CU and GS25 never look quite the same.

Which Pepero flavors can you buy in Korea?

Lotte’s brand page lists six regular flavors: Original, Almond, Choco Field, Crunky, White Cookie and Choco Cookie. Original, the classic chocolate-coated stick, is the one most people mean when they say “Pepero.”

• 오리지널 Original
• 아몬드 Almond
• 초코필드 Choco Field
• 크런키 Crunky
• 화이트쿠키 White Cookie
• 초코쿠키 Choco Cookie

On top of those, the season brings premium and limited flavors, like the Salty Vanilla above. Lotte’s 2025 Isegye Idol pack put all six regular flavors in one box, and assorted packs like that are the easiest way to try them side by side.

Where can you buy Pepero in Seoul as a traveler?

Start at a convenience store, then go to a large mart if you want the full range. In 2025 Lotte said its Pepero Day packs were sold at convenience stores, large marts, supermarkets and the main online shops, so expect the same mix in 2026.

Convenience stores. All four big chains are planning Pepero Day lineups, News1 reported on October 16. None had published prices or 1+1 deals at that point.

• GS25: tie-ins with its own character, Mumussi, plus limited goods and a discount promotion.
• CU: a “healing” theme with Pokémon and Tamagotchi, and goods such as squishies, keyrings, bottle stoppers, blankets and hand warmers.
• 7-Eleven: character collaborations with discount and gift events.
• emart24: character packages that bundle Pepero with goods.

If you like collecting the cards and stickers that come in Korean snacks, our guide to convenience-store goods bread covers the same habit, and who makes Korean convenience-store food explains how each chain builds its own lineup.

Lotte Mart Zettaplex Seoul Station. This is the big one for travelers. It sits on top of Seoul Station with a direct AREX line to the airports, and Lotte says the 2025 Stray Kids packs sold out there right after they hit the shelves. One catch: the store has been closing on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month (October 14 and 28 in 2026, as of October 2026), and November 11, 2026 is the second Wednesday of November. Check the Lotte Mart app or the notice at the entrance before you plan a trip there for the day itself. Our Seoul Station Lotte Mart guide covers the tax refund and luggage storage.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Lotte also told MTN it would focus Pepero Day marketing on major tourist areas for foreign visitors this year. As of October 28 we found no announced Pepero pop-up store in Seoul for 2026, so don’t plan your day around one.

How is Pepero Day going global in 2026?

Lotte is pushing Pepero Day as a Korean “K-culture” date abroad, and the numbers have grown fast. Pepero exports reached about ₩87 billion in 2025, up about 25% from ₩70 billion in 2024, and the Pepero Day campaign ran in 35 regions in 2025, up from 15 a year earlier, according to Lotte Wellfood.

What that means in 2026, based on Dealsite and Herald Business reporting on October 21 to 23:

• PLAY WITH PEPERO. Post a photo or video of yourself with Pepero on your own Instagram with the required hashtag, then submit the post link through the profile link of Pepero’s official account (@pepero.official). Entries close February 5, 2027, and the event is open to fans in Korea and abroad.
• The prize. 111 winners get invitations to a Stray Kids “MEET & GREET” in Seoul in April 2027, where the band will perform their Pepero song “November 11” live for the first time. The 11 first-prize winners also get round-trip travel and a two-night stay.
• Billboards abroad. Times Square in New York carries Pepero ads from October 19 to November 15, the fourth year in a row, and LA’s Koreatown Plaza until November 14. Vietnam, Kazakhstan, the Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan and Malaysia get their own promotions.

The song itself came out on September 10, written and composed by Stray Kids member Han.

What is Garaetteok Day?

Garaetteok Day is the rice-cake answer to Pepero Day, held on the same date.

Can you take Pepero home in your luggage?

Yes, in most cases. Pepero is a sealed, shelf-stable snack, the kind of packaged confectionery that is usually fine in checked or carry-on bags. Check your own country’s rules in our guide to taking Korean food home, and what you can’t bring into Korea in the customs guide.

Two practical problems: the sticks snap, and gift sets are bulky. Pack single boxes flat between clothes, keep fancy sets in your carry-on, and leave the cardboard carrier packs for last if space runs out. Chocolate coating softens in heat, which matters less in a Seoul November than in a warm destination.