Korean Culture : Noraebang (Karaoke)
Korean Culture : Noraebang (Karaoke)
Here in Korea, what we know as Karaoke is called Noraebang.
In western culture, we are used to the idea of Karaoke being going up to the front up to a stage or something and just sing in front of everybody. Korean noraebangs is something else. “Norae” means song and “bang” means room.
Basically, when you go to a noraebang here, you get a private room for you and your friends (the room size will depend on the place you go and how many people you are with).
You pay up ahead for the hour, sometimes you can get some discounts depending on how long you stay and of course, the way the place works.
You can find noraebangs everywhere. Since this is a very strong habit in Korean culture, it is common and easy to see noraebangs in the middle of nowhere and also in hot areas, sometimes lined up.
A very famous noraebang is the “Luxury” noraebang, as the name sounds, the price here is a little higher than other smaller noraebangs and if they are packed, they don’t give you benefits, like extra time in the room. They have many branches, one of them being in the heart of Hongdae.
Koreans feel singing is one way of getting rid of work or daily stress. Maybe because of that strong noraebang culture, most of them are just amazing at it.
From my experience in noraebangs with native people, all Koreans can sing alright to very well. And it is also considered a very fun, easy and natural thing to do at all times. Even if you can’t sing at all, nobody really cares and you will still have a great time. Many people combines going out for drinks, than noraebang and than continue partying.
When you are in the room of noraebang, you won’t be just singing or watching people sing, you will be dancing, drinking, eating and having lots of fun.
There are usually two microphones in which room and some places also have a tambourine, so you can join with that if you are not in the mood to sing all the time.
For foreigners, there are some English language songs on the list, so you can definitely join the show! Also, if you are into k-pop, many songs have English included in the lyrics, so you can also pair up with your Korean friend and just rock it (or pop it?).
Many times, Koreans would just pick a song and sing half of it and just go to the next one, if it’s not fun to do it all the way till the end. Must experience!
