KikiLab Concludes Social Impact Hackathon GEEKs Hackathon 2026

High school and university students gather to complete SDGs-based AI and IT service development projects over two days without an overnight break; Team 13 wins the grand prize for developing ‘MOEUM’… Event provides a forum for student developers to connect

Group photo of GEEKs Hackathon 2026 participants. Provided by KikiLab and published by The Dong-A Ilbo.

The social problem-solving hackathon ‘GEEKs Hackathon 2026,’ hosted by KikiLab Co., Ltd., was held at Maru180 in Gangnam District, Seoul, from the 4th to the 5th.

Held for the first time this year, the event is a hands-on program in which high school and university students form teams, identify social problems based on the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and develop software services to address them. Over two days without an overnight break, participants carried out every stage themselves, from planning an idea to design, development, deployment and presentation. They used a range of digital technologies, including generative artificial intelligence, to build their projects.

Reto, Dankook G-RISE Project Group, TeraBox, Hanbit Media and JetBrains were among the event’s sponsors. Five software Meister high schools from across the country, major universities and student developer clubs also joined as partners, expanding opportunities for participants to connect. On the final day, projects were judged on their planning, alignment with the SDGs, technical completeness and feasibility, among other criteria. The judges included Oh Jung-min, CEO of DevFive, and Lee Won-jun, CEO of Ifzero.

Team 13 (Kang Dae-hoon, Lee Woo-rin, Park Yu-ha and Lee Si-woo) won the grand prize for developing ‘MOEUM’ around the theme of ‘Quality Education.’ The top excellence award went to Team 10 (Shin Su-a, Choi Kang-woo, Jung Yeon-don and Choi Hyun-soo) for ‘Keepsy,’ a service that helps protect workers’ rights by recording work details. Team 6 (Park Ji-sung, Lee Seung-bin, Jeon Jae-jun and Jung Woo-jin) received the excellence award for developing ‘Green Pick,’ a barcode-scan-based service providing information for eco-friendly consumption.

Individual special awards went to students Park Hyun-jun for planning, Noh Hyun-woo for back-end development, Shin Seong-eun-jin and Ko Seok-hun for front-end development, and Min Seon-young for design. Lee Do-won, CEO of Kiki Lab, said, “I hope the experience of defining problems themselves, collaborating with teammates and completing a service will become a valuable asset for the participants,” adding, “We will continue to develop GEEKs into a forum where students can freely connect and take on new projects.”

Reporter Choi Yong-seok · The Dong-A Ilbo