Putting the "BANG!" in NORAEBANG!

Okay, so the inevitable happened last night... I noraebang-ed for the first time!

But that's the end of the story. Let's rewind...! So, to start the night, Miki, our boss, had invited us (me, Merv, Hye Jung and Jeong Mi) out for dinner. I knew we were in for something special the moment I heard she'd reserved us dinner at a place: nowhere does reservations in Korea, and when they do, you know you're in for a treat. And Miki didn't disappoint! ...no, we weren't just reserved a table... we had OUR OWN ROOM! And though I might be used to formal dinners (they're part of everyday life for a Cambridge student!), this was something else! Objectively, the meal was AMAZING - literally made up of like a bajillion mini-courses and all the banchan (side dishes) you could ever want... but, for me personally, there was perhaps a little too much seafood (I even feigned enjoyment of JELLYFISH, which for a seafood-loather like me, is an effort!) and a little too little kimchi!

...also, all the chopsticks and eating-bowls were made of tin, which was strange! Apparently it was an old royal family tradition to use a certain type of tin which turned black when poison touched it (for obvious reasons), which was pretty cool! (...or sad, if you're not so easily impressed by your novelty crockery XD).

So, after gorging ourselves on some sassy Korean grub, me, Merv, Hye Jung and Jeong Mi boogied over to Gangnam for ee-cha (round two): bar time! Now, I'm no stranger to soju - if vodka is Russia, then think of soju as Korea! (...the two don't actually taste that different: i.e. both ridiculously disgusting, and drunk with only one purpose in mind!) - but last night was my first time trying makgeolli! It's a milky, slightly sparkling, alcoholic drink made from rice, served in a massive bowl, out of which you ladel your own helping. It's certainly much less aggressive tasting than soju, that's for sure!

Makgeolli > Soju

Jeong Mi and Hye Jung

So, there we stayed, supping our makgeolli, and taking the occasional shot of soju, whilst we waited for Lydia - another part of the Miki hareem - to finish work, so she could join us for sam-cha (stage three): NORAEBANG!

Now, before I get onto that, let me just explain something about the Korean "bang" culture. It's typically Korean in the sense that it just covers a ridiculous number of ways of having communal fun with your friends in the comfort of a private room ("bang" literally just means "room"). So there's DVDbang, where you all get together and watch DVDs in a room, videobang, where you do the same with videos, Playstationbang (yep, you guessed it! ...with playstations!), gamebang (...board games!), and a bajillion other types, not forgetting, of course, noreabang!

So, because noreabang is in your own private room, it's actually a lot less daunting than karaoke singing in England, where you'd typically stand up in front of a packed bar and do it - in Korea, you've only got to worry about humiliating yourself in front of your friends! Needless to say, that's something which I'm pretty accustomed to already, so I was game! XD

Jeong Mi shows some love whilst Lydia checks out the song list.

...and that's not all - not only do you get your own karaoke machine to control in your own room, but you also get your own TAMBOURINES to bop along with while your mates sing! WHY HASN'T THIS CAUGHT ON IN ENGLAND?!

So, that was how we spent the rest of our night! After you start, you literally won't want to give the mic up! XD Lydia whipped out some pretty amazing renditions of Beyonce - Listen and Christina Aguilera - I Turn To You, whilst the rest of us singing-amateurs muddled our way through Avril Lavigne, Britney, Madonna, Girls' Generation (gee gee gee geeeee!), Super Junior, DBSK ... and even the Little Mermaid soundtrack! Hahahaha - perfect! But, seriously, nobody does Ariel's "Part Of Your World" like me... I'm not even joking. O_O

Mervyn looking perhaps a little too happy singing Avril Lavigne - Complicated.

Now, I know what you're thinking: wasn't it a little embarrassing singing in front of everyone like that? Well, the answer is... NO. And why not? Well, for starters, the soju did a pretty good job of numbing my inhibitions, but, perhaps more importantly, the microphones had such a ridiculously amazing echo quality that you could be Leon Jackson and they'd make you sound like Mariah Carey. Of this I was a MASSIVE FAN, because it allowed me to delude myself for the three minute intervals in which I was "singing" that I actually have more musical talent than a spoon. The noraebang folk clearly know their market and how to help them to massage their own drunken egos enough to consider returning. For this genius marketing ploy, I salute them!

Special mention must also go to Jeong Mi and Hye Jung's rendition of Super Junior and DBSK's - Show Me Your Love... legendary. I know it will now forever be the song I associate with them! XD

So, my first experience of noreabang? ...AMAZING. July 28th will hereby forever be remembered as the day when I dared to take on the noraebang. *cue sentimental group shot*

From left to right: me, Jeong Mi, Lydia, Hye Jung and Merv.

...in other news, me and Merv took a trip down the Han River on Sunday! Merv insists it was a little underwhelming, but I actually really enjoyed it! It was nice just relaxing on the boat, the wind lapping your face, and being able to take in all the sights on either side of the river! ...you don't get wind much in humid Korea (except from the old women on the subway, and I only rarely enjoy that variety), so when you do, it's nice to make the most of it! XD

... so, all in all, a good few days! :D