The Korea Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Service (KAFF) has recently published the ninth edition of its Farm Trend & Issue (FATI) report, which delves into the online discussions and keywords surrounding agricultural product anniversaries.

The report draws insights from a comprehensive analysis of over 360,000 articles published on various platforms such as news outlets, online communities, blogs, cafes, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook, spanning the years 2020 to 2023.

According to the report, the concept of “day marketing,” which involves promoting the sale of agricultural products in conjunction with their respective anniversaries, has proven to have a significant impact on consumer behavior and contributes to the overall revitalization of the agricultural and livestock industries.

For instance, sales of roses during the month of May, coinciding with ‘Rose Day,’ experienced a remarkable surge of at least 20% compared to the previous year (April). Similarly, the average weight of pork purchases in the first week of March, observed as ‘Pork Belly Day,’ increased by 10% from the first week of February.

Upon analyzing and evaluating online information related to agricultural product anniversaries between 2020 and 2023, the study found that ‘Rose Day,’ ‘Pork Belly Day,’ and ‘Garage Tteok Day’ exhibited the highest levels of awareness among consumers.

To gauge the level of awareness regarding agricultural product anniversaries, the report utilized three key indicators: information volume (the total amount of information referencing the anniversaries), social media (SNS) share (the proportion of SNS-generated information excluding media reports within the information volume), and reaction volume (the cumulative count of public reactions, such as views, shares, likes, and comments).

Results revealed that ‘Rose Day’ commanded exceptionally high awareness levels in terms of information volume (135,673) and SNS ratio (98.4%). ‘Pork Belly Day’ generated a lower amount of information (72,996) compared to ‘Rose Day,’ but it garnered the highest number of reactions (18.53 million) among all agricultural commemorative days. ‘Garage Tteok Day’ also garnered a substantial volume of information compared to other anniversaries.

In May, when ‘Rose Day’ was celebrated on May 14, many individuals expressed their emotions by gifting roses to their loved ones. The majority of comments (50%) conveyed positive sentiments, expressing the intention to present roses to loved ones, while neutral remarks (45%) affirmed the emotional stabilizing effect of roses.

The amount of information related to ‘Samgyeopsal Day’ (March 3), which remained relatively consistent at around 170,000 mentions every March until 2022, witnessed a 43% increase this year, surpassing 240,000 mentions—the highest recorded in the last four years. The surge in discussions is attributed to large-scale discount events held on ‘Pork Belly Day,’ which captured the attention of consumers amidst concerns over inflation.

‘Garaetteok Day’ (November 11) often appeared alongside mentions of “Farmer’s Day” or “Stick Pastry Day,” both celebrated on the same date.

Online sentiment overwhelmingly leaned positive (87%), emphasizing the importance of recognizing November 11th as ‘Garaetteok Day’ rather than ‘Lollipop Day.’ There was a call for increased awareness and enjoyment of ‘Garaetteok Day’ among a wider audience.

For further details and analysis, readers can refer to the ninth issue of Farm Trend&Issue (FATI), a trend report focusing on agricultural and rural matters, published by Nongwon. The report is available on the Nongwon website.