Meaning
노래방 (noraebang) is a private singing room or karaoke room where people select songs and sing using microphones and a screen, commonly rented by time or used in coin-operated form.
How it is used
Korea Tourism Organization describes noraebang as Korean singing-room culture and explains both standard hourly rooms and coin noraebang. VisitKorea also highlights Hongdae noraebang locations, making the word highly practical for Seoul visitors while remaining a nationwide Korean term. Seoul Metropolitan Government independently uses noraebang in its Korean-language teaching material and glosses it directly as the room where you sing or karaoke room.
Examples
- “친구들이랑 홍대 노래방에 갔어요.”
- “식사 후에 노래방 갈래?”
Pronunciation
/noɾɛbaŋ/ · noh-reh-bang
Tone and register
Neutral, social, and recreational. Noraebang is a venue term, not a label for a particular type of person or social group; it can describe casual friend gatherings, family use, solo coin singing rooms, or nightlife plans depending on context.
Visitor guidance
Visitors should understand noraebang as a Korean venue category, not specifically a Seoul invention and not automatically an alcohol or adult-entertainment setting. Prices, age rules, alcohol policies, opening hours and machine features vary by business, so this page explains the word rather than promising operational details.
Cultural context
Noraebang is one of the Korean cultural terms international visitors frequently encounter untranslated. In Seoul it intersects naturally with areas such as Hongdae and Gangnam, but singing-room culture exists throughout the country, and official Korean and Seoul sources both use the term as ordinary recreational vocabulary.
Places represented
Open the reviewed place guide for each regional sense carried by this canonical entry.