▲ Five students talk about their daily lives while having a meal at a restauran around CNU.

Eating alone is similar to making a solo presentation. You enter a cafeteria, alone. You check seats for ‘one person’ but all the seats are already taken by other students. There are only few seats left next to a group of students. You suddenly get nervous and it feels like everyone is watching and talking about you. "Pity, he/she is eating alone." It is a bit hard to eat without thinking what other people might say about you. You try to empty your head but it never works. You finish your lunch as fast as you can then leave the cafeteria feeling sick and exhausted, as if you have just done your presentation in front of complete strangers.
    If you are in the above situation, you can join a meeting called 'social dining'. “Enjoy your meal with strangers!” It might sound a bit strange and awkward to you but many people including university students do participate in this special form of dining, so did the Tribune reporters and with this experience we tried to figure out the reason of its popularity in a modern society.

▲ CNU students talk to each other at the Chonnam Tribune's social dining "Eat & Talk" held at a cafe terrace around the CNU Central Library on April 4th.

Social Dining: Find Someone to Dine with You
    Social dining is a meeting where people can communicate and share their interests with other people while having a meal. There have been several kinds of social dining services in foreign countries, such as Grubwithus or Lunchwithme in the United States. Otherwise in Korea, it has earned its popularity in a short period and it has become a trend these days among Korean people thanks to the activation of social network services. There is a famous internet homepage called ‘Zipbob (homemade meal)’ which is the first social dining website in Korea and its visitors have exceeded 8,000,000. 
    Currently, we can find many people joining a social dining group with enthusiasm. So do students; they make their own social dining groups and try to get people interested in it. Most people call it 'bobtudy' which is a combination of two words; 'bob (meal)' and 'study'. Students post on the internet bulletin board of their universities; in case of Chonnam National University (CNU), students post their notice on CNU Living Plaza which is a community website for CNU members especially for students. The Chonnam Tribune checked the CNU online bulletin board and in 2014, until April 6th, there were 13 posts related to bobtudy, and most of the notices are as follows: Join us now if you need someone to have lunch with you!
    Most social dining groups made of students have similarities; students set the time and the place for a meeting, then the participants meet and have a meal together. They talk about things they want to tell or share such as their school life, employment preparation or their cultural lives. Kim Jun-hyung (Junior, Dept. of Library and Information Science) said, “About social dining, I have never participated in it before but it will not hurt me to experience it someday. I think it can be a good opportunity for students who do not have any chance to communicate with others except students from their departments. Basically, to meet someone new is not bad at all.”

▲ A notice about "Eat & Talk", the Tribune's social dining on the Tribune's Facebook homepage

"Eat & Talk": Tribune Experience Social Dining
    The Chonnam Tribune decided to experience social dining for this special feature article and then we posted a notice on Tribune's Facebook homepage and on April 4th the Tribune's social dining meeting "Eat & Talk" was held at a cafe terrace around the CNU Library. Five students including Jeong Su-il (Senior, School of Business Administration) and Kim Woo-hee (Senior, Faculty of Earth System and Environmental Sciences) sat together. "Hello, nice to meet everyone and thanks for coming to the Chonnam Tribune's social dining 'Eat & Talk'," and our one-hour talking with sandwiches began.
    The participants introduced themselves and had a small talk about school life. Fortunately, thanks to the same interest in English, we broke the ice quickly and shared our thoughts and experiences related to English and international programs inside and outside of CNU. Since Jeong is the upper grade of university and had lots of experience, he told us about his own stories as a senior and his two year-long English club activity and about the CNU Buddy program for international exchange students. Kim had an experience participating in the Gwangju International Center's programs and the other participants also showed their interest in this organization. The students also talked about international exchange student programs and language study abroad, and so on.
    When lunchtime was almost finished and before wrapping up the conversation, the participants shared their impressions of their first-ever social dining experience. Jeong said, "It was good for me to meet someone new and have a conversation around a table," and Kim had the same thought as him. "I had not heard of social dining before entering university and this time is much more meaningful than just dining with someone," Choi Seon from the Chonnam Tribune said.
    Through social dining, people can do some social activities with others using meals which takes an important part in making a friendly atmosphere. It is especially good for students since most bobtudy members are from the same university, so the participants can make new friends. Also, they can share some useful tips and information about campus activities and lives, for example, how to get good grades, things to prepare for being an exchange student, or some personal worries.

New Social Trend, New Human Relationships
    Why do so many people participate in this kind of social meeting rather than have a meal with their friends or close acquaintances which would make them less awkward? "Individualism is getting greater in a modern society so people seek relationships with others." Doctor Bae Jae-chang from the Department of Psychology explained the reason why many people try social dining. According to his explanation, contrary to the Western people who are mostly independent, Koreans prefer close relationships with other people and family members rather than a single life. However, society has changed and the number of households with nuclear families or people who live alone has increased. In other words, Korean people prefer living alone but at the same time, they hope to meet and communicate someone who understands them or makes them feel comfortable even by joining an instant meeting with like-minded people regardless of the level of closeness. Consequently, many people who long for relationships with others look for social dining and it becomes an emerging sociocultural trend in our society.
    Social dining is not just having a meal with strangers; it is an opportunity to expand one’s personal connections, have a quality conversation with good food. You may feel embarrassed when you meet new people at first but a good meal and small talk will ease your tension and you will find yourself enjoying the time in the end. So, are you ready to dine with complete strangers today?
 

By Pyun Ja-seong, Editor-in-Chief

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