Social life in South Korea?

韓國的社交生活

Dropping the mic

放下麥克風

SEOUL?

Long karaoke sessions with colleagues are no longer compulsory

與同事一起長時間唱卡拉ok的社交不再是強制性的

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?o?er 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 o?ce workers.?

曾經(jīng)，韓國的下班后聚會有一種模式。酒足飯飽之余再來幾杯啤酒、幾杯燒酒（一種當?shù)亓揖疲┲螅@群人會溜到一間昏暗的地下室，擠在一間沒有沉悶、裝潢早已褪色卻配有卡拉ok機的房間。在那里，員工們會被強迫跟著老板敲手鼓，聽他高唱他最喜歡的歌曲，并被迫進行著屬于他們的演奏，然后才被允許跌跌撞撞地回家，此刻已是凌晨?？ɡ璷k廳于上世紀90年代初從日本引進，最初是為青少年和家庭提供娛樂的場所，但在醉酒的上班族中生意興隆。

詞匯

Boozy/嗜酒的；酩酊的

Spirit/烈性酒

Decamp/撤營；逃走；逃亡

Upholstery/ ?家具裝飾品

Tambourine/小手鼓；非洲野鴿

Ballad/歌謠，民謠；敘事歌謠；流行抒情歌曲

Rendition/演唱，表演

brisk business/生意興隆

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 co?ee 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.?

但這種場面已經(jīng)不再。不斷變化的工作模式和社會品味正將noraebang(韓國人對于“歌廳”的稱謂)擠出市場。政府最近將每周工作時間限制在52小時，減少了深夜閑逛的時間。越來越多的雇主意識到，在黑暗的地下室里發(fā)生的性騷擾和其他不良行為，意味著越來越多的晚餐提前結(jié)束，或者選擇在深夜的咖啡館里，一邊喝著不含酒精的飲料，一邊繼續(xù)交談。對于員工來說，下班后拒絕集體活動，把業(yè)余時間花在獨處或與朋友在一起，正慢慢變得更容易被接受。

詞匯

Gallivant/閑逛；與異性閑蕩

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 ?rst 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 o?ces during the daytime.?

行業(yè)分析人士預計，noraebang的數(shù)量將會加速下降。noraebang的數(shù)量在過去幾年一直在加速下降。其中近3.3萬歌廳留存下來(低于2011年逾3.5萬歌廳的峰值)。但2018年關閉了1400多家，僅今年第一季度就關閉了650家。在日本，卡拉ok歌廳也出現(xiàn)了類似的趨勢。據(jù)報道，絕望的卡拉ok主人在白天會將閑置的卡拉ok廳出租，作為臨時辦公場所。

詞匯

Afoot/進行中地，準備地；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不會消亡。韓國人感到欣慰的是，他們的職業(yè)生涯不再依賴于為音盲老板敲手鼓。但許多人仍然喜歡利用他們新贏得的業(yè)余時間唱歌。面向團體的場所正在關閉，但面向個人和情侶的“投幣式noraebang”正受到青少年、20多歲的學生和年長單身專業(yè)人士的歡迎。與老式的卡拉ok廳不同，它們往往位于地面之上，光線充足，裝飾多彩。用戶可以以500韓元的價格唱一首歌曲，而不是按小時支付15000至20000韓元(12至17美元)。來自首爾的24歲義務兵金說，這是獨自消磨時間的好方法。“我喜歡唱歌，但我不太擅長唱歌，所以一個人練習也讓我和朋友們在一起時不那么尷尬?！?/p>

詞匯

Tonedeaf/不善辨別音高的

Conscript/應征士兵，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 re?tted for other purposes, South Koreans and their guests will?continue?to?come?up?with?o?-key?renditions?of?Queen.

在一個人寂寞的時候大聲唱出自己的音樂似乎并沒有影響人們對音樂的偏好。除了當前的熱門單曲，noraebang排行榜上充斥著老派民謠和俗氣的西方流行歌曲。即使首爾的地下室被改造成其他用途，韓國人和他們的客人仍將繼續(xù)創(chuàng)作《女王》的走調(diào)版本。

詞匯

cheesy/下等的，俗氣的

re?t/整修，改裝

o?-key/不和諧的；走音的

rendition/譯文；演奏