The Significance of Karaoke Entertainment in South Korean Culture
Neither were the high end, high rise buildings and skyscrapers with posh restaurants and luxury boutiques. In its stead was a rural agricultural land filled with rice paddies, pearl farms and farm houses.
Yet around that time and well into the era when Gangnam District became a place to be in and seen; and even be heard singing in karaoke bars, singing was already a great part of Korean culture. As far as ancient Korean history is concerned, various written records describe the people’s love for singing and dancing, whether in public or private and regardless of reason for celebration.
Understanding the Korean People’s Love for Singing and Dancing
The strong urge to sing and dance is explained as having something to do with a Korean person’s “heung.” It relates to spontaneous feelings of fun and enjoyment that overflows and subsequently expressed in terms of vocal rhythms and lively dance steps.
It’s a culture that prevailed even in young generations of Koreans. Most Korean parents are tolerant of their teenage children’s love of going to places called noraebangs, which roughly translates to mean singing rooms.
That was even before Gangnam District emerged as the place to be in to experience the perfect nightlife entertainment. Noraebangs were favorite hangouts among Koreans whether young or old. Customers pay a minimal cash amount so they can use a karaoke machine that Japan invented, which subsequently found their way in Korea;
How the Karaoke Business Found Its Way into Seoul’s Affluent Gangnam District
Today’s Seoul’s Gangnam district is now described as a place filled with high-priced apartments, expensive reputable private schools, corporate offices, distinguished banks, costly plastic surgery clinics and a multitude of bars and nightclubs in which wealthy Korean folks and stressed corporate executives release their personal “heung.” The Gangnam Perfect Karaoke HyperBlick is a top choice for having fun.
Let’s have a look at the events that led to the development of the Gangnam agricultural land into the center of economic, cultural and educational activities in Seoul, Korea.
The opening of the Hannam Bridge in 1969 was a momentous event as the bridge provided the connecting infrastructure between northern Seoul’s Yongsan to Gangnam’s Apgujeong-dong. The bridge’s opening paved the way for the opening of the Gyeongbu Expressway in the following year; the highway provided the connection that linked Seoul to Busan. These events led to the transformation of Yeongdong district into becoming Seoul’s economic, educational and cultural hub.
However, in 1972, the municipal government of Yeongdong district, had though it best to prohibit the construction of additional buildings as solution to Seoul’s urban development. This led to the rapid growth of the Gangnam district, as many places of entertainment, mostly bars and nightclubs had set up business in the district. This was how the karaoke machines found their homes in the all day entertainment venues in Apgujeong-dong, and Sinsa-dong where many young people flock to enjoy the Gangnam Perfect nightlife.
