Noraebonging

A favorite pastime of many Koreans, the Noraebong (singing room) offers people the chance to karaoke their hearts out without embarrassing themselves in front of dozens of strangers—only their closest friends. Most noraebongs are located in unassuming buildings, oftentimes sharing a wall with a restaurant, salon, or bakery. The cost per hour to belt out random tunes in a private room is only around $5-10 per hour, and despite the sometimes odd decor rooms are set up with comfortable sofas and big screen televisions. Using a deluxe remote the size of a VHS tape, singers can select and delete songs at their leisure, which is convenient when you realize after a song has started that you can't actually hit soprano notes.