Fun time.

Picture this: Having a pleasant evening of Scrabble and pizza with two of your best friends. Fun. Now picture this: Having a pleasant evening of Scrabble and pizza with two of your best friends in South Korea. Even better. That is how I spent my Friday evening. Quality time.

Today was even better. Ever heard of or been to karaoke? In Korean, karaoke is known as no-rae-bang (노래방). ('Bang' is pronounced bawng.) It literally means 'song/sing room.' 'Norae' (노래) means song/sing and 'bang' (방) means room. Well, I went to a Nintendo Wii-bang (Wii방) in Old Downtown Ulsan (Seongnamdong/성남동). Wii-bangs are basically establishments that have dozens of modern media rooms that can be booked by the hour. They are private rooms that are equipped with surround sound, giant flat-screen TVs, entertainment systems, and Nintendo Wii's. Some also include karaoke and computer gaming on the big TVs. My friends and I played several games for two hours. The longer you book a room, the cheaper it is per hour. For two hours, we paid about $20 total (approx. $5 per person). 

Aside from the commonly known internet cafes (PC-bang/PC방), there are also DVD-bangs (DVD방). If you're not really in the mood to go to the movie theater, these places are a great alternative. You can choose a DVD from the extensive selection typically near the entrance. After you select your movie, bring it to the host. She tells you which room to go to and then you can enjoy your movie. Last weekend, my friends and I went a very nice DVD-bang to watch a movie called Letters to Juliet. Their exceedingly modern entertainment rooms had huge screens projected onto the wall, crisp surround sound, and extremely comfortable couches.