Eating alone can eat up your chances of campus social life

At the start of the new semester, SNU cafeterias are lively with various groups of friends meeting up to have lunch and chat together before going back to class. Especially for freshmen, lunchtime can be one of the most important aspects of having a balanced social life. But despite the seemingly bustling atmosphere, lunchtime can be an everyday routine; many students have lunch with friends whom they already know well enough. Of course, catching up with close friends is important, but at times it could be interesting to give a twist to the typical routine by eating with people you have never met before. If this is the case, where can one hope to find new friends?

Perhaps the solution could be"DooriDoobab," a new mobile app launched on March 13 that allows users to conveniently find lunch or dinner mates. The instructions for DooriDoobab are simple. After logging on to the app using the SNU student ID, users can select a"room" out of several subcategories, depending on the age limit, time and venue previously assigned by the app. In order to communicate with one's newly found lunch/dinner mates easily, users may also use a simple chatting service provided for each room.

The app was launched by"Team Doobab," led by LEE Hyun Jae (Dept. of Computer Science and Engineering, 3rd year), who initiated the project after many of his own friends showed a positive response to his idea of meeting new people during lunchtime for a change. Before officially developing the app, Mr. Lee conducted a survey among 225 SNU students, in which over 60% replied that they were okay with having lunch with people they do not know. The survey also showed that the general student population would be most comfortable in a group of four people of similar age, with similar gender ratios. Keeping such survey results in mind, the app developers set an age, gender and number limit for all 24 rooms offered each day. However, Mr. Lee mentioned that when DooriDoobab garners more users in the future, his team would consider adding more services that allow different variations to the pre-existing conditions and arrangements. In addition, if the app proves to be a success at SNU, Team Doobab may also develop the same app for other universities in want of a similar service.

After just over a week from the launch date,
DooriDoobab has had more than 300 downloads

After just over a week from the launch date, DooriDoobab has had more than 300 downloads. As well as creating a Facebook page to promote their app, the developers are also posting on SNULife useful recipes that students can try on their own. The recipes will be posted twice a week in the form of serials, with Monday's posts demonstrating a relatively more elaborate menu and Thursday's posts showing a more simple suggestion. For instance, the recipe for Monday, March 16 was"Creamy Salmon Risotto" while Thursday of the same week was"Mashed Potatoes."

Lunchtime at SNU could be one of the few moments during which you can relax with your friends, but for those who would like to broaden their social circle, DooriDoobab may be an interesting option. As one student commented after trying out the service, DooriDoobab could provide anyone with a"great opportunity to get to know new people other than fellow students from one's major, club, alumni association or lecture."

Students wishing to use DooriDoobab should be aware of the following rules and further procedures:

• DooriDoobab is currently only available in Korean
• A maximum of four people (two males and two females) can constitute each room
• Users can sign up for a room from 8:30 pm of the previous day until 30 minutes before the scheduled time, and canceling less than three hours before is not permitted
• Rooms with less than three people signed up three hours before the appointed time are automatically canceled
• Rooms with finalized appointments will be provided with a chat room 30 minutes before the appointment

More information about DooriDoobab can be found at www.facebook.com/dooridoobab.

Written by YOON Jiwon, SNU English Editor, jiwonyoon@snu.ac.kr
Reviewed by Eli Park Sorensen, SNU Professor of Liberal Studies, eps7257@snu.ac.kr