South Korean Condom Sales Down In Year Of Pig

South Koreans may be pinning their hopes for prosperity on the upcoming Year of the Pig -- but it's turning out to be bad news for condom manufacturers.

Stores in South Korea are reporting a marked decline in condom sales for 2007. One such company reported sales fell by 15 percent at its convenience stores in the first 18 days of 2007 compared to the same period in 2006.

The reason? More couples plan to have babies in an especially auspicious year.

Other popular stores in S. Korea have reported a similar trend with some seeing a 30 percent decline in condom sales in the first 21 days compared to the previous year.

The pig is cherished by Koreans as a symbol of wealth and prosperity, and the origin of good fortune. The drop was believed to be due to couples "who want to make 'golden pig' babies".

Some fortune tellers have also labelled 2007 as the year of the Golden Pig, which is said to come around only once every 600 years.

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