Noraebang!

Korea's all-time favorite pastime has got to be noraebang. Bang (pronounced more like 'bong') means 'room' and norae means 'singing,' so it translates to 'singing room.' Noraebang is basically karaoke in a private room, and they're everywhere! In fact, we live right next door to one. At first we just thought we had really loud neighbors, and then we figured out that it was the noraebang next door. It's actually not bad, but once in awhile at night you can really hear the 'music' (I use that term very loosely here).

OK Noraebang, the place next door.

I'm not much for singing by myself and Joel likes it even less, so the first time we went were sure it was going to be awful. Fortunately, the people we were with prefer to sing together, so there were no solos. We also discovered the true secret to having fun at noraebang (or noraebanging, as we like to call it)--you have to choose the right songs! The music you like to listen to is not necessarily the music that' s fun to sing. Red Hot Chili Peppers might be great to listen to, but try singing lyrics like 'Psychic spies from China try to steal your mind's elation' or 'Firstborn unicorn' by yourself without the benefit of the band singing along and you'll see what I mean.

Instead, I have newfound appreciation for Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson, and Maroon 5, as well as the 80s rock classics like Bon Jovi ('Livin' on a Prayer,' anyone?) and Guns 'n Roses. I love those guys! Their songs are so fun to sing to. If I ever end up in a karoake bar back home, I now have a nice repertoire to choose from.

I have some pictures from our last outing to post, but Blogger isn't letting me upload them right now. I'll try again later today so you can get a true sense of the joys of noraebang.