Sunday, February 24, 2013

The Norae-mobile

Today I discovered something marvellous. After a long day traipsing around a cold, muddy, and yet fascinating and beautiful folk village (with traditional video game arcade, traditional train, traditional camel-monkey-horse machines to ride around on, and a Chosun warrior doing Gangnam style on a horse), we hopped on the bus and headed back to our orientation venue.

On the bus, our 'homeroom teacher' explained to us that after a picnic or hike, ajummas and ajeossis like to have a bit of noraebang (Korean karaoke with scoring like Singstar).

not my photo or my bus but close enough. 
Two hours of foreigners singing "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Sex Bomb", and pretty much anything from the 90s off-key. Some brilliant displays of talent by the Brits, and some jaw-dropping performances by our Korean hosts. I tell myself they've been doing it all their lives and that's why they're so good. I tell myself that the cold is making me croaky and so my voice isn't up to scratch. I can keep telling myself these things. Maybe I'll start believing them.

Anyway, the aim was achieved: the time flew.

Compared to the crappy 90s movies shown on Greyhound buses in SA, I think NoraeBuses are the future. Oh, Korea.


2 comments:

  1. One of my absolutely favourite bus pastimes, but unfortunately only available on buses that tend to be rented by EPIK and the like. Not public transport :(

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    1. I think having it on coaches is definitely preferable to having it on public buses, as that would get very annoying after a while. Rather sing with friends than have ajummas crooning all night on a trip you might want to sleep on...

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