a day at the spa

this saturday, i had my first experience at a korean jjimjilbang.

a jjimjilbang (or 찜질방) is more or less a public bathhouse, and they are extremely popular among koreans. this is the place to relax and unwind, and most are open 24 hours and thus also provide a place to sleep on the cheap (usually ₩6,000-₩10,000; roughly $5-$9CDN). housed inside are not only jacuzzis and showers and saunas and steam rooms of varying size and specifications, but often also a gym, cafes, TVs, restaurants, arcades and more.

there are several moderately-sized jjimjilbangs in our neighbourhood that my foreign friends and co-workers have frequented several times, but i had yet to indulge. i have to admit, while curious about the whole experience, i was feeling nervous and modest about the nudity bit of it. you see, there's no such thing as swimsuit-wearing going on at the jjimjilbang. the spa areas are gender segregated and clothes-free. meaning, i quickly had to get over any intimidation about lounging around in the buff if i was going to partake.

so, i decided to get over it! on saturday, breda, maddie and i headed into seoul to check out yongsan dragon hill spa, one of the largest jjimjilbangs in south korea. although a bit pricier than others, with a ₩12,000 entrance fee on weekends, it houses 6 floors of upscale pampering.

and it ended up being a very interesting and relaxing experience. we showered and sampled several hot tubs of varying temperatures. my favourite tub was probably the outdoor (yes, outdoor!) jacuzzi. the indoor showers and saunas share space with short individual sinks with stools for shampooing and personal scrubbing. the bulk of the patrons occupied these sinks, and were busy soaping and hosing themselves down. after having enough of the hot baths, we changed into our pajamas - provided shorts + tshirt uniform - and enjoyed some massaging chairs (significantly more budget friendly than the rubs and scrubs provided by nearly-nude spa employees). among the many saunas and sweating rooms we sampled, one was literally called a "kiln" which is quite fitting considering it had a waist-high entrance and a sloped roof highly resembling an over-sized oven.

in the co-ed section of the jjimjilbang, there are cafes and snack bars to satisfy your appetite (where hard boiled eggs seem to be the food of choice). there is also a large common room for floor sprawling, where we caught part of a live magic show. the place was packed, and i'd estimate there was an audience of at least 200 pajama-lounging koreans for the somewhat unexpected but enjoyable performance.

after almost 3 hours of relaxation, we felt we'd gotten the most out of our experience. and while the admission fee lets you rest and recharge for up to 12 hours, i'm pretty sure i would have shriveled into a prune after that long.

the jjimjilbang was an interesting and relaxing cultural experience. it was worth the money, and definitely worth the nudity!