Nightlife and Drinking Culture Part II

-KTV-
For the first month or so of being in China, I continually saw all these neon signs of ‘KTV.’ Since they certainly didn’t seem like bars or clubs from the outside I concluded that ‘KTV’ must be a very prominent local television station. As to why they seemingly had stations on every city corner, I just wrote it off as another ‘crazy China thing’ and didn’t give it anymore thought. That is until Matt informed one Sunday evening after work that we were going out with a group that night to KTV.
( If the people of China were put on trial for insanity, their maniacal obsession with KTV would be the proverbial 'bloody glove.' Really. They are all completely out their minds. ) I think the conversation went something like this:
Me: I mean, okay. Why are we going to a television station on our night off?
Matt: Dude, no. KTV is karaoke-television. You go into private rooms and sing karaoke.
Me: Dude, what’s so fun about singing karaoke alone?
Matt: Trust me man. It’s so much fun. You have to come. It’s a cultural experience.
So after my typical “I’m not sure, just go without me. I’ll be fine here. Really, just go,” I ended up going and naturally, had a fantastic time. Matt and I met up with our American friends Kris and Zach Giglio (Mike’s little brother), and a bunch of their cohorts from the World English School. After playing with several puppies (I mean really, we’re singing private karaoke for one another- what do you expect?), we met the group at the KTV at about 10. The building itself was very new and massive. The place was like a hybrid between a four star hotel and a trendy nightclub. There were neatly dressed attendants seemingly at every corner, eager to assist us. After Matt told an attendant what party we belonged to we were quickly ushered up some stairs and down a maze of hallways to our designated room. The room itself was lavishly decorated, replete with a large flat screen (where the karaoke was displayed) plush leather couches, and a top notch sound system. Already waiting for us were Kris and Zach and their cohorts and their significant others. Also in the room were a few computer screens where one selects the song they would like to sing to on karaoke. For the first 30 minutes or so, people were a little apprehensive to take the microphone (random cultural tidbit- all Chinese people can sing. While they have a terrible sense of rhythm, and can’t catch a ball to save their lives, they all can really belt it out). But after people had played with enough puppies, the willingness to perform was only outpaced by the decline in the quality of the singing (think Grandpa singing Christmas Carols at Midnight Service at Church after having a jug of wine). For the next few hours everything was a blur of ridiculous Chinese songs (which I understood nothing), and the occasional English (usually performed by me) song. I do vaguely recall Matt rapping an Eminem song, and me serenading some random Chinese girl I with All-4-One’s 1994 hit “I Can Love You Like That .” The experience as a whole was a lot of fun. And I highly recommend that you try it if given the opportunity.
Our experience with KTV wasn’t, by Chinese standards anyway, a typical night at there. While KTV certainly caters to the more family crowd during daytime, at nighttime it becomes very adult oriented. In China, and throughout all of Asia, people go to KTV and hire girls there to sing with them. Yes, you read that correctly. Groups of guys go to KTV, and hire pay girls obscene amounts of money to sing private duets with them. For a little extra money, the girl will then go home with you.
Moreover, in many Asian countries, KTV is the go-to destination for business-men to make deals. They will go into a KTV room with girls (oh, did I mention that when selecting a girl to sing with you, you aren’t assigned a random girl. Rather, they literally have a line-up of girls and you pick out the ones you want) talk business, perform with the girls for a while, then sleep with them (sounds better than playing a round of golf).
Another offshoot of the KTV culture is that girls who work at KTV scour the bars on their off nights to try to clandestinely gain clientele. Matt has told me that numerous times he has talked to pretty girls at bars for long periods of time only for them to invite him to their KTV place the following night. (on that note, the sex industry, while technically illegal in China, is rampant throughout all of Asia. Since Asian people lack the puritanical based we have, the sex industry isn’t demonized like it is in America). As a result, much of the nightlife of meeting people at bars has eroded away. Literally every girl at a bar is either with there with her boyfriend, or a girl looking to make a dollar one way or another. This problem has become so prominent parts of Asia that some places are starting to ban KTV. South Korea recently outlawed all KTV on account that it was eroding away its culture. All in all, KTV is a lot of fun, and I encourage all of you, if ever given the opportunity to try it out.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. As always, thanks for reading.