Long karaoke sessions with colleagues are no longer compulsory
韓國員工不再被強制參與同事間長時間的卡拉OK
Print edition | Asia Aug 22nd 2019| SEOUL
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.
以前人們在韓國下班後的聚會遵循一種固定的模式。在飯局上喝完幾輪啤酒和燒酒（一種當地酒飲）之後，人群會轉場到昏暗的地下室。這些帶卡拉OK機的房間密不透風，這群人就擠在褪色的椅子坐墊上唱歌。老闆在KTV裡吼著自己喜歡的曲子，而員工被迫用手鼓給他伴奏附和，一直到凌晨他們才得以踉踉蹌蹌地回到家。卡拉OK於20世紀90年代初從日本引進，最早是青少年和家庭的娛樂活動，但它卻在醉酒的辦公室白領的光臨下生意紅火。
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.
這種情況不再有了。不斷變化的工作模式以及社會品味正在讓韓國的noraebang（練歌室）走向停業。政府最近將每周的工作時間限制在52小時，這減少了深夜遊樂的空間。員工越來越意識到存在於昏暗地下室中的性騷擾以及其他不良行為，這意味著越來越多的晚上聚餐早早結束，或是更多的會面轉移到深夜咖啡館進行，在那裡人們可以一邊喝無酒精飲料一邊聊天。員工在工作之後拒絕集體活動，單獨或與朋友一起度過閒暇時間，這已經慢慢變得越來越容易接受。
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.
行業分析師預計，加速增長數年的練歌房數量將會加速減少。這些卡拉OK廳中有接近33000家還在營業（從2011年最高峰超過35000家減少到目前這個數量）。但2018年有超過1400家關門，今年僅第一季度就有650家倒閉。卡拉OK之鄉日本也出現了類似的趨勢，據報導絕望的業主不得已只能在白天將他們不用的店鋪租出去做辦公室。
Karaoke is not dying. South Koreans are relieved that their careers no longer hinge on jangling a tambourine for their tone-deaf 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 24-year-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並未消亡。韓國人感到寬慰的一點是，他們的職業生涯不再依賴於為他們的音盲老闆搖鼓助興，但很多人仍然利用他們剛爭取來的自由時間去唱歌。針對團體的地方正在關閉，但個人和夫妻的「投幣練歌房」正在變得越來越受青少年，20多歲的學生和年長的單身專業人士的歡迎。與老式卡拉OK廳不同，這些新的卡拉OK房間往往位於地面，光線充足同時內部裝飾多彩。用戶最低只需要花500韓元就能唱單曲，而不用每小時花15000到20000韓元（相當於12到17美元）。來自首爾的24歲的Kim表示，這是一個消磨時間的好方法。「我喜歡唱歌，但我不是很擅長唱歌，所以單獨練習也會讓我在與朋友們相處時不那麼尷尬。」
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.■
人們傾向於選擇單獨去KTV大聲唱歌，但這一點似乎並不影響他們的音樂偏好。除了當前的流行曲之外，KTV房間的音樂榜單被經典情歌和俗氣的西方流行金曲佔據。首爾的地下室被改造成其他用途，但與此同時，韓國人以及他們的客人仍然在唱著跑調的「皇后樂隊」曲子。