DVD bangs.

Recently I've discovered a wonderful thing.

As some of you might know, I'm something of a film fan. When I decided to leave my London life and toil in South Korea for a year I knew jolly well that I would probably be without good films for most of the time, and I wasn't even sure I would be provided with a TV. Thankfully I was, and I get Sky which gives me a few good films every now and again and BBC World and BBC Entertainment (yes, that's right, I still get to watch House Invaders whilst I eat my breakfast, though it used to be better - Bargain Hunt).

I can also satisfy my film lusts by trekking into Seoul, or the nearest big Seoul "satellite city" Ilsan. All Western films are shown in their original language with Korean subtitles, so there's never any faffing at the box office with dubbing questions. The only problem with that is if a film ever has multiple languages and English subtitles they get over run by the Korean ones and you can't see 'em. So I haven't seen Babel, I knew the subtitles would be a whitewash. Cinemas only cost 7 or 8 thousand won (about 4 pounds) and popcorn is cheap, so it's not a bad thing to do often.

Still, like I said, I've recently discovered a wonderful thing. They are called DVD bangs. I recall reading about them in Lonely Planet, but I hadn't ever seen one so I thought it was one of those Lonely Planet myths (like some bars they describe as warm and cozy being as socially cold as the grave). No offense to LP, it's hard to stay up to date in printed books. One day it'll all be electronic and there won't be a problem. Good news for trees, bad news for paper manufacturers and wholesalers. Oh, whoops, I seem to have wandered off the point...

A DVD bang is an establishment full of small rooms with either big TVs or projectors. You choose a film like you would in a rental shop, pay 5000 won each (2 pounds fifty), then they throw it in a DVD player, show you to a little room, and you kick back on a sofa and enjoy! They don't give a hoot about food or drink you take in so you can have a little picnic or a few beers with your film. It is an odd sensation, but the minute I stepped into my first room I knew I'd love it. The rooms feel like nine months ago a cinema and a living room mated and that is what resulted. (Hmm.. I wonder what the gestation period for a living room or cinema is, and come to that which one would be the carrier?) The ones we've found in Munsan have projectors and massive screens, even though they aren't much bigger than a small bathroom. It doesn't feel too close or hurt your eyes though, well, no more than a cinema does. One day I'll take a photo. Until then you'll have to take my word for it - they rock.

John and I were wondering if they would take off at home, but I think the possibility of being a bit seedy (dark room, sofas, 2 uninterrupted hours) is a bit much. Pity... it would be a great opportunity to watch on a large screen any film you missed at the cinema that really deserves a big scale showing.