Prior to moving to South Korea, I had no idea what a ‘noraebang’ (singing room) was - let alone any idea that I would be spending many a late night singing with my closest Korean and expat friends throughout my five years in the country. Unlike a typical karaoke screen that only provides the song lyrics, Korean screens play movie scenes behind the lyrics to each selected song. I began to notice the juxtapositions that happened at the intersection of film scene and song lyric. Shaking hands in agreement flashed across the screen simultaneous to “All You Need Is Love” lyrics. Aftermath of a war scene flashed across The Black Eyed Peas’ “Boom Boom Pow.” While friends sang along to songs by The Bee Gees to Britney Spears, I photographed the screen waiting to see what kind of visual mashup would occur.
