UbuCon Asia 2025 Recap from Yeonguk Choo: Memories, Community, and Ubuntu

To share my recap of UbuCon Asia 2025, I need to go back to the Ubuntu Summit 2023 in Riga, Latvia.
At the closing dinner, I took a group photo with the people I met there, and that picture has remained one of my most cherished memories of the event.

That moment inspired me to create something that could give participants keepsakes of their own.
This was the beginning of the Ubu4Cut project.


After completing development, I first introduced the photo booth at UbuCon Korea, aiming to show that “yes, even this is possible within the Ubuntu ecosystem.”

I believed this idea would shine even brighter at an international event. Unfortunately, I couldn’t bring it to last year’s UbuCon Asia in India, but this year I want to bring it. Thankfully, @sukso96100 from the global team and @ilvipero both encouraged and supported the idea.

Preparation

In Korea, I prepared photo paper and ink that could print about 350 photos.

I also recreated the keyring set that was so popular at UbuCon Korea, thanks to 3D printing and the help of Hojun. With everything ready, I felt fully prepared for the journey.

August 30 (Day 1)

The excitement hit me as soon as I arrived. The reception desk was buzzing, with a long line of participants waiting to check in.

I could see how much effort the local team had put into making everything run smoothly.

Once the Ubu4Cut booth was set up, it immediately drew attention. Many participants eagerly lined up to take their photos.

August 31 (Day 2)

On the second day, an unexpected issue occurred while setting up the photo booth.

At first, it was stressful, but it turned into a valuable debugging opportunity.

Together with several experts, I reviewed the code, analyzed the problem, and worked side by side toward a fix.

In the end, we solved the bug and got everything running smoothly again.

This experience reminded me of the true meaning of Ubuntu — “I am because we are.”

It perfectly reflected the essence of our community: solving challenges together and supporting one another.

By the end, nearly all the paper and ink had been used, and I gave away about 300 photos as keepsakes to participants.

Conference Dinner

The conference dinner offered a chance to relax, enjoy delicious food, and connect with sponsors, speakers, and other participants in a casual atmosphere.

It was a wonderful networking opportunity.

Day Trip

Once the official program ended, I joined the day trip. We visited Bhaktapur and Nagarkot, where we explored historic buildings and admired local carving art.

I even crossed the longest and highest suspension bridge I’ve ever walked on — an unforgettable experience.

Huge thanks to the local team for organizing such a memorable excursion.

Mardi Himal Trek

After the conference, I embarked on a short but powerful 3-night, 4-day trek to Mardi Himal.
Although my schedule allowed only a brief trip, the trek left a lasting impression on me.

At the view point of Mardi Himal, I shouted: “UbuCon Asia!”

Closing Thanks

Thank you to our incredible organizers, speakers, and participants who made UbuCon Asia 2025 such a memorable event.
Special thanks to our sponsors — Canonical, St. Xavier’s College, DishHome, OnlyOffice, DeepComputing, and many more for their generous support, which made this gathering possible.

Most of all, thank you to the Ubuntu community. This event once again reminded me that we are stronger together, and Ubuntu truly lives through us.

I can’t wait to see you all again at the next UbuCon Asia!

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Thank you very much for the interesting booth and attending the conference. See you soon.

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Sorry for not having been available when the photo booth bug occured, I was involved with other things, but fortunately, I have built a nice team at OpenPrinting, with the help of the Google Summer of Code, and so @kappuccino111 , one of my most amazing team members, who was at the booth at that moment, fixed it.

Thanks a lot, @kappuccino111 , for helping to make printing just work everywhere!

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@choo121600 as we are all making free and open-source software here, I assume that your Ubu4Cut is also free software, but I do not see any link to a project page, GitHub, documentation, … It is something really useful for free software conference organizers, much more impressive to the attendees than some third-party, commercial, proprietary-software-based service.

Could you post a link to your work? Thanks a lot.

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