Noraebang essentials:
☊ tamborines
☊ cute microphone covers
☊ korean+english+japanese song book
☊ elaborate menu controls!
I'm addicted and grateful to noraebangs for 2 reasons:
1. Pure BLISS while singing along AMAZING Kpop songs with friends ^^
2. And the MOST CHALLENGING Korean speech exercise ever!
When I was just starting to learn Korean, I felt pretty happy that I was able to read and make out the Hangul letters from textbooks and online lessons. I thought it was a very fulfilling skill at that time ㅋㅋㅋ.
However, my joy was short lived as I soon learned that I couldn't read well enough to sing along in a noraebang ㅠㅠ. It was frustrating to have to depend on romanized song lyrics which I had to prepare in advance (arrgh). It's also quite annoying that I wasn't able to select my favorite songs efficiently since I struggle to read/search through all the Hangul materials. So I persevered on learning not only the letters but also the words so that I can fully enjoy my noraebang experience. I'm not sure if that was the correct motivation but it sure worked for me!
Sadly, there aren't a lot of great options to go for noraebang at my hometown. There was just this one place I used to frequent with friends and cousins. I used to maintain a list of songs that I would sing on all my visits. I know their corresponding number codes since I look them up online hahaha... Ah, but I haven't really been back at this place for a while now. I also stopped maintaining my list hehe.
Once in Koreatown, San Francisco, I just had to go into this small noraebang place because they had Yoriwang (Cooking Cooking) available! That was just a few weeks after Super Junior Happy debuted so I was just beyond excited *o*. I offered to pay for the entire session since I was with non-kpop friends and also just because I was just TOO elated ㅋㅋㅋ.
And then of course I had to try out Everysing in Seoul! We went to the first location in Gangnam and spent a breathless 2 hours belting out (mostly) SM songs. I love the themed rooms in Everysing and personally, I could have spent 2 more hours by myself hehehe. But the thing with these Seoul trips is that not all my friends are THAT into Kpop so there has got to be some compromises.
I should really visit more noraebang places in Seoul ... That's something that may forever be in my to-do list!
Nowadays, I get my noraebang fix from my smartphone ㅋㅋㅋ. I particularly enjoy using the Ziller Survival app:
I can practice my Kpop songs anytime and listen to my recorded performance afterwards. It's almost as good as the real thing except of course it has none of the noraebang essentials I listed above. I also miss singing with great friends ㅠㅠ But I guess this app will have to do for now that most of my friends are away or busy~~~ At least I can practice my favorite Korean rap lines without being too embarrassed! I will have no more excuses when we go out to an actual noraebang later on aigooo...
