Korean Room Culture; PC 방, 노래방, and more!

South Korean Rooms are more than just a PC 방 and 노래방! From entertainment to relaxation, they have a lot of options to hang out with friends or spend some quiet time alone. The name comes from attaching 방, which means room, to different hobbies or interests. Many of these places have private rooms for you to use, or shared common room(s) that everyone uses.

Why Are 방 So Popular?

A lot of rooms have really cheap hourly prices, with profit coming from you buying snacks or drinks. They are a popular option to get out and away from family because a lot of the population lives with family until marriage in houses that aren’t very soundproof. So being able to let out stress with gaming, singing, or just quietly reading is a big draw.

Even outside of people living with their parents, many live in small apartments, especially in Seoul. Cheap small apartment buildings also have bad soundproofing. So, to get out is very tempting, and makes meeting up with friends easier than hosting at your place.

Many locations offer special deals or promotions as well to draw in customers. For example, a PC 방 can offer exclusive skins, items, and the full selection of characters unlocked for games. Plus, it’s a spot to play team games without server lag or any issues from an online call!

The numbers speak for themselves; there are over 10,000 PC 방’s in Korea, 30,000 노래방’s, and countless more 찜질방’s.

How Many Types of Korean 방 Rooms Are There?

Korean 방’s range from entertainment to relaxation and a bunch in between. Here is a quick rundown of some popular room types!

• 노래방: Song room – (AKA Karaoke!) While in the West we adopted the Japanese term, Koreans kept to their native language. Noraebangs are multiple soundproof rooms for groups to get together and sing, dance, drink, and snack the night away! Check out my full post on them for a more complete run-down and some top picks for Koreans to sing along to.
• PC 방: Internet café – A popular choice for teenagers everywhere, these places offer top-quality computers for people to play a range of computer games or simply use the internet. Outfitted with snacks and junk food available to keep their customers happy, and can be an open space of computers or individual cubicles for people to use.
• PS 방: PlayStation room – Pretty straight forward, this one focuses on playing PlayStation! Again, with snacks and junk food to fill you up as you play.
• 게임방: Game café – similar to a boardgame café over here, you can get together and play a selection of board games and card games.
• 스크린 골프방: Screen golf room – These places have a full wall height display and game setup for you to play golf without having to go out to a real course. Of course, they are made in mind that you are smacking a golf ball full force; so in most places, the screen is just a projection against a sheet/curtain in front of a wall. So you don’t damage a huge monitor.
• 찜질방: Korean bath house – Korean bathhouses also count as a 방! A lot of places are 24/7, with floor heating, sleeping rooms, sauna areas, full body scrubs, and much more to help you relax in luxury. I will have to go more into Korean bathhouse culture in another post!
• 만화방: Comic room – The word manhwa comes from the same Chinese source as manga. These rooms are filled with various comics. With a combination of library and café vibes, these places are very cozy to relax and read in.
• DVD 방: DVD room – Like a Noraebang but set up to watch movies, they are individual rooms for a few people. Now these rooms have an extra connotation so keep that in mind- many couples use them to cuddle and more. The rooms can range in quality, though; some have huge recliners, HD projectors, and food to give you your own private theatre experience.
• 멀티방: Multi-room – Just as the title suggests, these places serve multiple 방 experiences. It’ll differ, of course on the place, but many are a combination of PC and PlayStation, Bathhouse and DVD, etc.

If you’re in South Korea, try checking out a 노래방, PC 방, 찜질방, or whichever piques your interest! I would say those 3 are the most popular types, with their own history and culture that have developed around them.