Social life in South Korea 

韩国的社交生活

Dropping the mic

放下麦克风

SEOUL 

Long karaoke sessions with colleagues are no longer compulsory

与同事一起长时间唱卡拉ok的社交不再是强制性的

After-work gatherings in South Korea used to follow a pattern. After a boozy dinner and several rounds of beer and soju, a local spirit, the party would decamp to a dingy basement and squeeze onto faded upholstery in an airless room with a karaoke machine. There, employees would be pressed into accompanying the boss on the tambourine as he howled his favourite ballads and forced to offer their own renditions, before being allowed to stumble home in the early hours. Karaoke parlours, imported from Japan in the early 1990s and originally intended as entertainment for teenagers and families, did brisk business with drunk office workers. 

曾经，韩国的下班后聚会有一种模式。酒足饭饱之余再来几杯啤酒、几杯烧酒（一种当地烈酒）之后，这群人会溜到一间昏暗的地下室，挤在一间没有沉闷、装潢早已褪色却配有卡拉ok机的房间。在那里，员工们会被强迫跟着老板敲手鼓，听他高唱他最喜欢的歌曲，并被迫进行着属于他们的演奏，然后才被允许跌跌撞撞地回家，此刻已是凌晨。卡拉ok厅于上世纪90年代初从日本引进，最初是为青少年和家庭提供娱乐的场所，但在醉酒的上班族中生意兴隆。

词汇

Boozy/嗜酒的；酩酊的

Spirit/烈性酒

Decamp/撤营；逃走；逃亡

Upholstery/  家具装饰品

Tambourine/小手鼓；非洲野鸽

Ballad/歌谣，民谣；叙事歌谣；流行抒情歌曲

Rendition/演唱，表演

brisk business/生意兴隆

No more. Changing work patterns and social tastes are pushing noraebang(“singing rooms”, as they are known in South Korea) out of business. The government recently restricted the working week to 52 hours, cutting the scope for late-night gallivanting. Growing awareness among employers of sexual harassment and other bad behaviour in the dark basements means that more and more dinners wrap up early, or conversation is continued over non-alcoholic drinks at late-night coffee shops. It is slowly becoming more acceptable for employees to say no to group activities after work and spend their spare time alone or with friends. 

但这种场面已经不再。不断变化的工作模式和社会品味正将noraebang(韩国人对于“歌厅”的称谓)挤出市场。政府最近将每周工作时间限制在52小时，减少了深夜闲逛的时间。越来越多的雇主意识到，在黑暗的地下室里发生的性骚扰和其他不良行为，意味着越来越多的晚餐提前结束，或者选择在深夜的咖啡馆里，一边喝着不含酒精的饮料，一边继续交谈。对于员工来说，下班后拒绝集体活动，把业余时间花在独处或与朋友在一起，正慢慢变得更容易被接受。

词汇

Gallivant/闲逛；与异性闲荡

wrap up/席卷而去

Industry analysts expect the decline in the number of noraebang, which has been accelerating for a couple of years, to speed up. Nearly 33,000 of them survive (down from a peak of more than 35,000 in 2011). But more than 1,400 shut in 2018, and 650 went during the first quarter of this year alone. Similar trends are afoot in Japan, the home of karaoke, where desperate owners have reportedly resorted to renting out their unused parlours as temporary offices during the daytime. 

行业分析人士预计，noraebang的数量将会加速下降。noraebang的数量在过去几年一直在加速下降。其中近3.3万歌厅留存下来(低于2011年逾3.5万歌厅的峰值)。但2018年关闭了1400多家，仅今年第一季度就关闭了650家。在日本，卡拉ok歌厅也出现了类似的趋势。据报道，绝望的卡拉ok主人在白天会将闲置的卡拉ok厅出租，作为临时办公场所。

词汇

Afoot/进行中地，准备地；徒步地

Karaoke is not dying. South Koreans are relieved that their careers no longer hinge on jangling a tambourine for their tonedeaf bosses. But many still like to use their newly won spare time for singing. Places aimed at groups are shutting down, but “coin noraebang” for individuals and couples are becoming popular with teenagers, students in their 20s and older single professionals. Unlike old-school karaoke parlours, they tend to be above ground, well lit and colourfully decorated. Rather than pay hourly rates of between 15,000 and 20,000 won ($12-17), users can sing individual songs for as little as 500 won. Kim, a 24year-old conscript from Seoul, says it is a good way to kill time on his own. “I love singing but I’m not very good at it, so practising alone also makes it less embarrassing when I’m with my friends.”

卡拉ok不会消亡。韩国人感到欣慰的是，他们的职业生涯不再依赖于为音盲老板敲手鼓。但许多人仍然喜欢利用他们新赢得的业余时间唱歌。面向团体的场所正在关闭，但面向个人和情侣的“投币式noraebang”正受到青少年、20多岁的学生和年长单身专业人士的欢迎。与老式的卡拉ok厅不同，它们往往位于地面之上，光线充足，装饰多彩。用户可以以500韩元的价格唱一首歌曲，而不是按小时支付15000至20000韩元(12至17美元)。来自首尔的24岁义务兵金说，这是独自消磨时间的好方法。“我喜欢唱歌，但我不太擅长唱歌，所以一个人练习也让我和朋友们在一起时不那么尴尬。”

词汇

Tonedeaf/不善辨别音高的

Conscript/应征士兵，被征召者

The move towards belting out tunes on one’s lonesome does not seem to have affected musical preferences. Apart from current hits, the noraebang charts are dominated by old-school ballads and cheesy Western pop staples. Even as Seoul’s basements are refitted for other purposes, South Koreans and their guests will continue to come up with off-key renditions of Queen.

在一个人寂寞的时候大声唱出自己的音乐似乎并没有影响人们对音乐的偏好。除了当前的热门单曲，noraebang排行榜上充斥着老派民谣和俗气的西方流行歌曲。即使首尔的地下室被改造成其他用途，韩国人和他们的客人仍将继续创作《女王》的走调版本。

词汇

cheesy/下等的，俗气的

refit/整修，改装

off-key/不和谐的；走音的

rendition/译文；演奏