On April 28, an online *babyak* matching service was officially released with the intent to match Korea University (KU) students with one another to carry on a longstanding university tradition. *Babyak* is Korean shorthand for a social exchange over a meal eaten together; in university culture, it refers to exchanges specific to those between an upperclassman and a lower-year student, usually a freshman. This tradition usually took place through interpersonal connections and was localized to those taking the same degree program. However, the development team Senwoobab sought to systematize and open up this tradition to a bigger pool of students by allowing them to make *babyak* engagements online — starting with KU.
Currently, Senwoobab’s service is presented as the online page bab-yak.com — synonymous with its web address — and is also in the process of becoming an application. As of yet, this online service is in its beginning stages and has its limits; however, the website is very much up and running with functionality, and students can use the website in real time for its intended purpose. Already people are posting *babyak* offers with easy-to-read introductions and basic requirements before the mutual agreement to meet up for a decent meal. While its user base is small due to its buggy interface and difficulties in accessibility, the post advertising this service on KU’s Everytime, a university community page, gained much traction and has a concentration of students interested in using this service more regularly.
The Origin Story of Bab-yak.com
The creation of this website was inspired by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the social situation caused by related public safety restrictions. *Babyak* culture has been diminishing with the rise of the pandemic, mostly due to freshmen not knowing of its existence or lacking opportunities to meet their upperclassmen to arrange a *babyak*. The creators of bab-yak.com felt that this situation was very unfortunate and decided that a streamlined approach of launching a related application would alleviate this circumstance.
Furthermore, since social distancing protocols allow for meetings between two people, *babyaks* are feasible in this climate. Therefore, it is through this service that two people can meet and get to know each other in the way of KU tradition. With this goal in mind, the development team of bab-yak.com is dedicated to providing a platform for people to connect online and negotiate a meeting.
How Does It Work?
In order to encourage students to use the service, they opted for a simple layout in the beta release. The website currently sports a minimal finish and bold words, which serve their purpose of being minimalist, clean, and serviceable for any user. Furthermore, the main colors used on the first page are purple on a white background, which are colors that do not burden the eye.
To access beyond the first page in this website, one must register for an account. Users can only make an account after verifying their Korea University Portal to Information Depository (KUPID) ID. They are then taken to a registration page where they can sign up for babyak.com’s services. This is done to ensure the safety of KU students by filtering out those who do not have credentials registered by the school; this screening service protects students from being ambushed by random, non-KU strangers who may wish to contact KU students, such as academy recruiters or those intending to propagate religion. The main page of the website states two services in the upper corner: *babyak* searches within your specific degree program, and for the university as a whole.
Each user also fills in a card with details, including interests and worries and even their alignment for the recently popularized Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). These cards will show up for other users for their perusal. The quest for a good *babyak* starts by flicking through these cards of basic introductions until you find something that suits both the user and the interests of *babyak* acquaintances. Users can also edit their profiles — although profile pictures are not supported yet — for the card. This increases the chances of someone else choosing you for their *babyak*. Both parties can interact with each other through the website’s independent chat service, and if they agree on a time and date, a *babyak* will take place offline.
Future Plans in Store
The creators revealed that there is no set schedule for development, but that their ultimate goal is to release a mobile application for their program. Two people have been working on the program, both of whom are in charge of design and development. However, bab-yak.com being a part-time project for them, service updates are expected to be slow. They promise consistent updates, however, since their eventual plan is to create a fully functioning app. Furthermore, they have stated that their app will be a nonprofit project, providing free service exclusive to students looking to connect with each other.
Looking into the future even further, Senwoobab ultimately plans to expand their services beyond KU to Yonsei University and other universities. However, their plan for now is to focus on developing their application and improving their current framework. In other words, Senwoobab will focus on shaping this service to the needs of KU students first before attempting to spread the usage of their application.
Fresh ideas and creative approaches by students are what make KU a great place for both education and socialization. The bab-yak.com duo are invested students devoted to making social lives at university easier and more accessible for their fellow university students. Taking inspiration from them and those that came before, it is clear that a lot of what we as KU students take for granted are made by creative-minded individuals, turning ideas into reality. Senwoobab’s admirable efforts in maintaining *babyak* culture is a great attempt made for the good of others, and it is through their creation that *babyak* and stay to evolve into a network of interconnected meetings.
