Korean slang profile
밥약
babyak
Short for an arrangement to eat together. At university, it also refers to older students buying meals for newcomers to get acquainted and help them adjust.
Short for an arrangement to eat together. At university, it also refers to older students buying meals for newcomers to get acquainted and help them adjust.
- Expanded form
- 밥 약속meal appointment
- Other spellings
- —
- Earliest source found
- Jul 2, 2025
- Documented trend period
- Not verified
This is the earliest source we have verified, not the date the term was coined.
01Examples, with English translations
- Example by Julimmal
이번 주에는 동아리 선배와 밥약이 있어.
I have a 밥약 with an older student from my club this week.
02Documented history
- July 2025KBS discussed the meal-appointment culture between older and newer university students and explained it as short for 밥 약속.[1]
03Origin & word formation
Short for ‘밥 약속’ (meal appointment). A 2025 source from KBS confirms this formation or explanation. Who first used it and when could not be established.
Evidence for the origin explanationMedium
The formation and usage were checked in the source. Who first coined it and when it was first used need further comparison.
04Sources
Original titles and links are preserved. An English translation does not replace the original source.
- “선배 밥 사주세요”…요즘 대학생 ‘후배 무섭다’ 한숨 사연은 (KBS)Published Jul 2, 2025Original source checked Nov 13, 2026