Karaoke was an Asian phenomenon that I had little interest in, until I landed in South Korea, where it is known as noraebang – 노래방.
I remember years ago someone had opened few karaoke pubs where I’m from, places that never attracted my interest, as the idea of being in a room and starting to sing in front of perfect strangers to let them pass some minutes of sound discomfort had always made me avoid walking in.
But here in Korea, as in many other Asian countries, everything takes place in private rooms and the fact of being among friends, in a cozy atmosphere, certainly changes the whole feeling of the experience compared to being in front of a whole room with a microphone in hand.
The literal translation of the Korean term noraebang is “singing room”, an experience that is part of culture of the country, people of all ages spend fun hours singing songs, from their repertoire and from the international one.
The norebang are scattered all over the Korean peninsula, you can find them in every corner of the cities, they can be super modern, or in a more classic style, some a little older but with a lot of charm! Look for a neon sign with these Korean letters: 노래방 and enter. Here you will find the staff, or sometimes the owner himself, who will assign you one of the different rooms in the place, with various dimensions depending on how many people it can hold and that can also serve you some snacks and some drinks, if you wish. Usually the room is rented for an hour, which will allow you to sing four or five songs each if you are a group of three or four people, but if you want you can stay even longer.
At the entrance of the norebang you will find to sit, usually sofas and a table and in front of you you will have the screen with the connected stereo system. In all the rooms there is a book with all the songs cataloged, usually divided according to genre and language, all numbered and the huge remote control that will allow you to interact with Karaoke, obviously there are two microphones to which is added an echo effect that you can adjust. Even if your vocal cords are not prepared for a concert, do not be discouraged and enter the code of the song you know into the device!
To start with the song you want to sing:
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- Search for the song and relative number on the book
- Digit the code on the device,
- Click: 시작 START
- The Karaoke will play the song you have chosen and will tell you when to start singing
The genres included in the list range from pop to rock, there are, of course, various Korean songs, several pieces in English and I also found some extreme metal music, if your strings hold up. You can choose to sing melodies from the 70s to the contemporaries, all accompanied by a video, which often has nothing to do with what you are singing.
At the end of your musical performance you will be awarded with a score, don’t worry about it too much, also because I haven’t yet understood what it is based on and, usually, you don’t go to norebang to start a competition!
The karaoke only stops when it reaches the end of the minutes you are allowed to stay in the room, but fortunately without ever interrupting your singing performance in half. The cost of renting the room is around 25/30 Us Dollars per hour, quite affordable given the fact that you are in a group and you share the expense.
I have seen around the city some norebang cabins for a person or two, in which you pay for each song and with which you can practice before presenting yourself in front of friends, or even just having fun alone.
You go to hold the microphone at any time of day or night and the atmosphere that is created is pleasant and festive, don’t be afraid to try even if you don’t know how to sing, nobody will ever judge (in negative) your singing skills, the experience of the norebang is really fun and I recommend you try it!
