The BFS campus buzzed with energy as over 50 high school students from across Korea gathered for an unforgettable coding challenge—the first-ever BFS Scrapyard Hackathon. Designed to celebrate creativity, absurdity, and technical ingenuity, the event welcomed students of all skill levels to collaborate, build, and compete for “stupid prizes” in the spirit of innovation.
A Hackathon Like No Other
A hackathon, also known as a codefest, is an event where programmers and tech enthusiasts collaborate to develop or improve software or hardware projects. The term itself combines “hacker” (a clever programmer) and “marathon” (an event of endurance). However, unlike traditional hackathons focused on practical solutions, Scrapyard Hackathon encouraged students to build projects for their sheer cleverness, uselessness, and absurdity—essentially, projects destined for the “scrapyard.”
This event was the vision of BFS High School’s Computer Science Honor Society students, who were inspired to host a hackathon after attending one earlier in the year. With the support of Hack Club, a global nonprofit organization with a “for students, by students” philosophy, BFS successfully organized a branch event of Scrapyard, a hackathon that embraces the wildest and wackiest ideas in coding.
Initially, the team set a goal of 80 participants. As planning progressed, the expectations became more modest, with hopes of reaching at least 30 students. In the end, the event exceeded expectations, drawing over 50 enthusiastic participants and yielding 18 completed projects!
Beyond the numbers, the atmosphere of the event was electric. Laughter and excitement filled the air as students exchanged ideas, tested their creations, and marveled at each other’s projects. Friendships were formed, skills were sharpened, and everyone walked away with a unique experience to remember.
Innovative Projects & Awards
The hackathon concluded with a peer vote to determine the top three projects and special awards chosen by the event organizers, the BFS Computer Science Honor Society students and faculty.
All Projects
Hack Club Podium – Scrapyard Hackathon Leaderboard
Awards
- Reverse Kirby – 장재영, 박찬혁, 추영빈 (Sunrin Internet High School, Seoul) – The Kirby you know eats everything. But our Kirby spits out everything!
- Wake Up – 이지우, 윤지상, 윤건우 (Busan Software Meister High School, Busan) – An alarm that you have to wake up—not an alarm that just wakes you up.
- Conch of a Conch – 공재욱, 김현호, 안재민 (Busan Software Meister High School, Busan) – A decision-making site that delays its choices by passing them off to random people. (It’s Sora Go-dong from SpongeBob!)
Honorable Mentions
- Funniest Award: Search Engine for Noobs – 한유찬, 김태영, 권지원, 장현원 (Sunrin Internet High School, Seoul) – A text-free search experience powered entirely by emojis.
- Jankiest Award (1): Snack ATM – Angie G., Skylar F., Sasha P. (Busan Foreign School, Busan) – Enter a number into the keypad, get another random number back! Get money for the snack you pay with.
- Jankiest Award (2): Under the Sea Vending Machine – Ariel C., Shirley H. (Busan Foreign School, Busan) – A moving vending machine that takes your money and eats your food—leaving you with nothing but trash.
- Organizer’s Pick: Due Later – Google Classroom Senioritis Edition – Yujun, Tommy, Oliver, Justin (Daegu International School, Daegu) – A Chrome extension designed to encourage senioritis and minimize productivity. No matter what you’re doing, we’ll keep you distracted!
A Celebration of Community & Creativity
More than just a competition, the BFS Scrapyard Hackathon was a celebration of innovation, problem-solving, and community. Students from both Korean and international schools came together to push the boundaries of what a hackathon could be—proving that creativity and technology go hand in hand.
The success of this event would not have been possible without the vision and hard work of our Computer Science Honor Society students, the support of Hack Club, and the enthusiasm of every participant who embraced the challenge.
As we look ahead, BFS hopes to make the Scrapyard Hackathon an annual tradition, continuing to provide a platform where students can explore their passions, experiment fearlessly, and, most importantly, have fun.
Until next time—keep hacking, keep dreaming, and never be afraid to build something truly ridiculous!
