Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die tomorrow.

James Dean

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Let's get naked ... my night at the Jjimjilbang

Last night, with much hesitation, I decided to do something that is a very common Korean pastime, but something that would make many westerners uncomfortable. I visited the jjimjilbang (korean bathhouse / spa). These can be found all over Korea, in almost very town. In Daejeon alone there are probably hundreds (ok overexagerration but at least 20 or 30). Basically it's a public bathroom where you go to bath amongst many other people.
My friend Kristina and I decided to give it a try as we had heard wonderful things about it. I was very hesitant to go because as a white person I already garner enough stares so I could only imagine what it would be like as a white, naked person. However, I swallowed my pride and told myself that I am here to experience Korea. We arrived by subway to the Yusong spa district area of Daejeon. This area is known for it's natural hot springs and abundant spas. We weren't too sure where to go once we got there but when we stepped out onto the street we were inundated with hotels and signs advertising their saunas. We chose the closest one and walked in. As we descended the steps we were met by a very lovely woman who informed us that the cost would be a measly 5,000 won (about $5.00). We were given a key for a locker, handed 2 towels, instructed to remove our shoes and shown to the change room. The change room itself looked like anything you would see at a pool or gym, with rows of lockers, the walls lined with mirrors on one side and women in various stages of dress blow drying their hair and applying their makeup. There was an old woman behind a counter selling various bathing products, soaps, wash cloths, packets of face masks and body lotions.
We could feel all eyes on us as we walked into the change room and found our lockers. Of course the lockers we were assigned were at the very far end of the room. This later turned out to be a good thing as we were next to the door to the pool so we didn't have as far to walk in our nakedness. Taking a deep breath we removed our clothing. At this point I realized that people had lost interest in us and no one was even looking at us anymore (or at least that's what I told myself). We gathered up our bathing products and made our way to the pool area. The room we entered had a giant tub in the middle (it looked like a big hot tub) that could hold about 30 women. Around it were other smaller tubs, all with digital displays of the temperature. The temperatures ranged from 44d down to 23 d. Along the sides of the room were the actual showers. Before you can enter the main pools you have to bath. We each found a shower and preceded to wash, using our soaps and shampoos etc. Amazingly I very quickly forgot that I was naked and no one seemed to be paying any attention to us.
After the bathing ritual was completed we made our way to the pool. We chose one of the hotter ones (34d) and it was so relaxing. Apparently the water contains special minerals that are good for your skin. It felt like sitting in a giant hot tub. Over in the corner there was a spot where you could pay for massages and other things. There was a sign advertising the different options but it was in Korean so we weren't really sure what they were offering.
We spent the next hour wandering from pool to pool, combining hot and cold. All the pools had jets that you could turn on and off and some had fancy fountains in the middle of them. They also had 2 different saunas. We spent some time in the cooler sauna but after a few minutes I decided the heat was too much for me. As I found refuge in the cooler pool, Kristina headed into the even hotter sauna.
Reluctantly after about an hour and a half we decided that it was time to leave. We were both tired and hungry and as much as we wanted to stay we knew it was time. After a quick shower, we dressed and headed back out into the city.
It was a great experience and one that I will definitly be repeating, very soon. For $5.00 you can go and stay for as long as you want. They are open 24 hours and quite often people will go and sleep there. If you are travelling to another city, rather than spending money on a hotel many will just check into the jjimjilbang and sleep on one of the many lounge chairs around the pool.

4 comments:

  1. Cheryl: Sounds like you are mainly enjoying your new job. Gary and I had lunch with Con & Terry today. They are fine. Con still trying to decide whether to retire. Cheryl in case I don't get into your blog again, have a happy birthday next week. I had mine and am now 69 yrs. old. Doesn't seem possible. We had really good weather in April. Very unusual. All my tulips are out early. We got home Apr.8 from Myrtle Beach. It was a cold winter there this year. We even had snow Feb. 12 and they had to cancel a marathon. If they had waited until noon the snow had all melted. Anyway it was the first time in 10 years they had snow there. I hear Chris is returning to Edmonton for his work. I'm sure the kids will be glad. It must have been very hard for him to be away from them for so long. I am enjoying reading your blogs. I wasn't sure how to do it but it isn't difficult. Hope you will get my comments. Talk to you soon. Alice

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  2. Thanks for the birthday wishes Alice. You don't look anywhere close to 69. I am having a wonderful time here and am heading to Seoul for my birthday.

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  3. Oh my God! Who the hell cares!!!

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  4. But this accessory's history goes back even further. It has been reinvented many times, and likely will be many more. skinnysprinkles

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