노래방 - The phenomenon that is Korean karaoke
Tuesday, February 17th, 2009Goodness gracious this is popular.
If your first encounter with Korean culture wasn’t with K-Pop or K-Dramas, then it might have been at the Korean karaoke bar. It’s also been blogged about here, here, here, here, here, and here. Oh, and here too. And kind of here.
The thing about this Korean-wide phenomenon is that it permeates and flows through each and every Korean like the force. Sure, not everyone goes all the time but if you’re Korean, you’ve gone to the 노래방. Plenty of times.
And here’s a brief comparison of 노래방 outside of Korea.
Something that I see that makes me smile are these practice rooms: 노래연습장. It’s not quite enough to embarrass yourself with your friends - now you can practice your craft so that you’ll only slightly embarrass yourself. Only slightly.
Here’s the thing: these little rooms are magical. Like a mini-Vegas. What happens in 노래방 stays in 노래방. If you sing Wonder Girls with your drinking buddies, they won’t hold it against you. If you stand up and bang on the tambourine to your friend’s thirty-year-old trot tune, it’s totally fine. If you pour your heart into the mic for your favorite over-the-top cheesy ballad, you’re in good company.
But
If you go to 노래방 and just sit there, be prepared to get razzed and bullied until you sing something. You are expected to sing. Seriously, I understand that this activity has no real American equivalent but if you are a stick-in-the-mud then you’re better off staying at home.
Don’t misunderstand me. I love 노래방 and I’m a lousy singer - but if this doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, it can be stressful to be pressured into singing in front of people. I encourage everyone seriously studying Korean to go to a 노래방 at least once. It really has a whole lot less to do with sounding great than it does hanging out and relaxing.
One of the benefits for going to a 노래방 with friends is that it is one of many activities that help to build relationships. As if you didn’t know already, the human race Koreans place a lot of importance on relationships and their word about you is vital to becoming successful in Korea. Want friends? be a friend. Koreans dig on singing loudly in small spaces.
So, any horror stories? Any special nights that started/ended with singing? Do tell.
Thoughts?
Posted by Matthew in How Koreans Do It |
February 17th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
i actually just had my first real 노래방 experience on saturday. i can’t believe i have lived in nyc for 6 months and i just went for the first time! anyway - it was exactly as i expected it to be. i sang a couple songs too, but i’m pretty sick right now, so it didn’t sound good. that really isn’t the point though - people don’t care what you sound like, it’s just good fun! and yes, there were tambourines.. we stayed away from the wonder girls though.. ㅋㅋㅋㅋ
February 19th, 2009 at 7:35 am
heh, I’m surprised you’ve been writing this blog for so long, Matthew, and only now did you do an entry on 노래방…
I prefer the 노래방’s with a little more… umm… style in the rooms. I’ve been to ones with stages, nice couches, glass floors… as well as ones that may be one notch lower than a motel 6…
February 20th, 2009 at 11:55 am
My Korean friends in New Zealand have been trying to drag me along for years and I have successfully resisted on all occasions. I was amazed (intimidated) by the sheer quantity of 노래방 there are in Korea on my first trip and with me going to live there i think it will be a matter of time before I’m sucked into going. T_T
February 24th, 2009 at 12:55 pm
man I told you that this stuff is big:
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200902/200902230026.html
February 28th, 2009 at 8:06 am
We have a local 노래방 here were I live but it is like $50 an hour and so I have to get like 10 people to go in order not to cramp my style. The Koreans I know say it sucks but it is still fun for us non Asians cause it is such a different take on fun.
Besides going to the public baths, going to a real Korean style 노래방 is one of the first things I will do when I go to Korea….I will have to go out drinking a bit first to ready my voice and attitude but I will do it ….hahaha!
March 4th, 2009 at 5:05 am
BTW, did anyone see Flight of the Concords’ take on the 노래방?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZKnW6CPJVQ
March 5th, 2009 at 4:42 am
Are there any Korean songs that, if you offer to sing them in a 노래방, will make you an automatic laughing stock?
I’m just speaking from my experience with Filipino-style karaoke, where people really become dismayed if you offer to sing F. Sinatra’s “My Way”.
(This is a really big thing in the Philippines as well - in fact, the most famous Filipino-style karaoke device is the “Magic Sing”, which is manufactured by a LA-based company called “Joeun Enterprises”, which I suspect is owned by Korean-Americans. Interesting connections, huh?)
March 5th, 2009 at 5:12 am
His pronunciation is really good!
And my 18 (go-to-song) is 남행열차. It always guarantees a good time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-eybNrrLpk
March 9th, 2009 at 11:10 pm
why do they call the go-to song, the ship-pal-bun?
anyone know the reason?
i learned what it means, but realized i don’t know the history behind how that word caught on
my 18번 is probably 아시나요 by 조성모 ;D
March 10th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
Karaoke is awesome =P. I’m going to teach in Korea soon, and the jimjilbangs and norebangs are the two things to which I’m looking forward the most (especially as both are incredibly cheap there). Here, Korean spas are around $40-$45 a person, and karaoke about $35 an hour, which I feel is criminal.
Anyway, I’ve gotten a lot of my friends into karaoke–white, Indian, Chinese, etc.–and I’ve noticed that the best singers are white and Korean =P. I’ve personally never met a Korean who was absolutely horrible at singing (as in, they can at the very least carry a tune and sing the song properly, if not with panache). Obviously, I know this is only out of my experience (before people start accusing me of being racist or such), but I like to entertain the idea that Koreans are a very sing-happy people–it’s part of our culture, like drinking soju and eating kimchi!
Btw, do all the posters know each other, and if so, is it weird that I don’t but am posting, lol? Just reading lots of teaching in Korea blogs to prep me =P.
March 11th, 2009 at 8:14 am
I once got the explanation that Koreans are better singers because they sing so much - like any muscle, they have “exercised” more often than most Westerners. Muscle theory aside, it made me smile.
haha no, not all of us have met in person but many of us have been studying here at KC101 for a while. All of us are super happy to have you on here, too!
Oh, and I’m a white guy with zero singing ability. FYI.
Yuri, I’m looking to move to Korea this summer. Shoot me an email: matthewlynnsmith@yahoo.com