By Kim Rahn
At a “noraebang” or singing room, quenching a dry throat after belting out your favorite tune with a swig of beer is a common scene, but actually drinking alcohol there is prohibited under the current law.
An owner of a noraebang caught selling beer to customers is subject to fines.
Protesting against the law they call unrealistic, a national association of noraebang owners are demanding the government permit them to sell canned beer to customers, claiming the current situation makes them “lawbreakers.”
“A noraebang is almost the only place where drinking alcohol is banned, while people can drink alcohol not only at bars but also at ordinary restaurants or even out in the street. But customers want to drink at singing rooms, too, so some of us sell beer to attract them, while others bring beer with them by hiding it in their bags,” Kang Yong-gu, secretary general of the association, said at a press briefing in central Seoul Thursday.
“Then owners are punished for selling alcohol. They are fined or sometimes their operation is suspended, even in cases where customers themselves brought their own alcohol. We are trapped and fall victim to the yawning gap between the law and reality,” he said.
According to the association, an average of 13,000 singing room owners or 40 percent of its members annually get fined mostly for the alcohol-related violations, paying an estimated 2.6 billion won ($2.2 million) in fines per year.
“Worse, some customers take advantage of the regulation. Some demand we provide alcohol. After drinking it and enjoying singing, they say they will not pay the bill, threatening to report it to police,” Kang said.
The association said the law needs to reflect the reality as beer is available even at cultural facilities such as theaters, baseball parks and football fields.
“The law is outdated and should be revised to reflect reality. We don’t wish to sell all alcohol but cans of beer will be enough,” he said.
The members said they will return their operation licenses to the authorities in protest unless their demands are met. The group already submitted a petition to Cheong Wa Dae and relevant government organizations for the law revision.
The call to lift the ban on alcohol drew mixed responses from customers.
Some said the lift will help make revenue at a noraebang more transparent for easier taxation.
“Beer is almost openly sold. It would be better to bring the sale out into the open. It may expose the exact sales at noraebang, too, facilitate taxation,” said Yang Jae-hyuk, a 33-year-old office worker. “It is said that some singing rooms provide fake beer, and the open sale will also prevent customers from being cheated.”
On the other hand, another office worker, Cho Yoon-ji, said, “Even now there are many drunken people at noraebang, and if they are authorized to sell beer, people who visit there for singing purposes only, like me, would get disturbed even more by drunks.”