What the Heck is Up with This?
For several years in college, I lived just down from an Asian market, where I loved to shop. Mainly, I liked to look at the packaging and guess what the food was. The guy who ran the store used to just STARE at me as I shopped. This is the box of Poki sticks that I happened to have in my hands the third time that he asked me if I needed any help one day. Pepero is the brand name. This box tasted just like chocolate chip cookies, but they come in five flavors. Mainly I bought them because of the little character on the box.
What is he supposed to be? Is he a Korean Teletubbie? It’s filthy – Some sort of Freudian allusion to homosexuality bent to conditioning children! After years of watching Godzilla and anime on television, I realized that I knew practically nothing about Asian culture – certainly not enough to explain this outrageous marketing ploy. So, I decided to educate myself, and, in the best interest of cultural relations, to share what I had learned with my fellow Americans – you, dear readers. Thus, I begin my series, “Japanese Culture 101.” Stay tuned.
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