Internet links people with food, friendship

On Friday evening at Greek Joy, a Greek restaurant in Seoul’s Hongdae, six women and a man got together.

They had never met each other before. But it didn’t take long for them to gossip, giggle and converse pleasantly.

Red, white and rose wines were served with vegetable soup. Meat skewers were paired well with a strong red.

They had gathered through online community Zipbob (homemade meal), which arranges social wining and dining events for those who don’t want to eat alone. Zipbob’s tagline states, “Don’t want to eat alone? Then come!”

Wine parties are some of the most popular gatherings hosted by the online community, with 13 held so far. Seats ― usually six for a cozy mood ― are usually fully booked a few days in advance.

Party-goers pay for their meals beforehand and gather unaccompanied. They tend to remain anonymous before they get close enough to share their names. Until then, they are often wary of sharing personal stories. But anonymity and the fact that everyone is present because they live alone encourages them to open up their hearts.

“I joined Zipbob several months ago. I was interested in wine, so I was happy to meet people who have the same interest. Since I took pleasure in meeting like-minded people it has become impossible to quit,” said a 27-year-old female graduate student, who is single.

First attracted to wine parties, she is now trying differently themed gatherings, having made more than a few friends already. According to her, some “cream of the crop” members have formed their own group and enjoy dinner together independent of the community. They have become close enough to talk about private matters such as girlfriends and boyfriends.

“You never know what’s out there. You may end up knowing and speaking to nobody or you can make friends,” she said.

The Friday mingling ended with some leaving for a nearby bar for a drink and chatter. Things don’t always go so well, however.

“Sometimes, people who come to wine and dine together are too shy or reticent, to the extent that it puts a damper on the mood,” said Kim Min-chul, who hosted the meeting at the Greek restaurant.

Kim, a sommelier-turned-insurance sales agent, first arranged meetings of strangers mostly to share his knowledge and advice. But as time went on, he found he had more and more to learn from them.

“I get a lot of advice and help on my personal and business matters. Here, it is not a must to let others know who you are, and more often than not, people do not identify themselves and spill the beans about themselves,” he said.

For the founder, creating the site was initially about the food.

“Things started with a simple wish last year. I wanted to eat homemade food,” said Park Lynn, founder of Zipbob. “I cooked a dish, took its photo and posted it on Facebook and invited unspecified people. It turned out that people enjoyed one another’s company more than my food.”

Inspired by her pleasant time with guests and the newly emerging concept of social dining, she created the website. So far, more than 10,000 Zipbob members have attended about 1,620 gatherings.

Zipbob has spawned copycats. One can easily find similar sites dedicated to social dining.

Popular cable TV channel tvN recently started airing “Let’s Eat,” a drama about singletons who try to find the true meaning of love and life by dining together.

“Food is a good medium for people, single or not, to communicate well and make ‘things’ happen,” said Park Jun-hwa, director of the drama. “This is an irreversible trend.”

By Bae Ji-sook (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)