A nudist's day at the Jimjilebang

So Hannah decided to introduce me to the Korean spa today. Sounds good to me! But there are some MAJOR differences between a North American spa and the Korean Jimjilebang...

So you go in, pay 6000 won (about 6$) and they give you a key and some "spa clothes". You take your key upstairs, lock up your stuff, and change into your spa clothes. This particular spa has 7 levels! 2 are filled with rooms of varying temperatures... the dry saunas varied from 63*C to a whopping 115*!!!!! Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that's a setting on an oven, not a room that you sit in voluntarily!! So you basically just go in and sweat. There were also saunas that had pipes running along the sides with cold water running through them, so you lie down and put your head on the pipes and it feels really nice, you can actually stay there for a while! Or until the pipe really starts digging into your head, whatever... The walls and ceilings in these saunas are also very beatifully decorated, with stones and mosaics and scenes and stuff... it's the first place that I've seen that isn't tacky to the n'th degree!

So now we come to big difference #1: people lying everywhere. On the 2nd sauna floor, there was also a "resting room", which is really just a big open room, a few benches, and people lying on the floor. Some were resting, some were sleeping, some people were lying on the floor sleeping elsewhere in the building... basically, wherever you hit the floor, that's a good place to nap! Sounds good to me! They also had a cold sauna, which was the perfect temperature to initiate my desire to go snowboarding. Damn, have to wait a few more months for that here!

Big difference #2: this spa is 24 hours. And being a 24 hour spa, with lockers, "resting rooms" and only 6 bucks to get in, travellers often stay there instead of a hostel!!! So there was a floor that was totally un-spa-y, that had a cafe and a restaurant, kareoke rooms, a stage, internet lounge, movie room, and even sleeping rooms!!! So tip for all of you who want to travel in Korea... stay in spas! It's cheap, safe and self-indulgent, all in one convenient location! They also have a gym and a pool, and on the 7th floor (roof) it was all a big rooftop garden patio, with tables and chairs and a little pond with waterfall, just to hang out and relax, maybe take a nap!

I went for a run earlier, so no gym today, so after we sweated it out in the saunas for a while, back into the changeroom we go, where the hot tubs and showers are, as well as the spa services. But get ready for BIG DIFFERENCE #3: you are completely naked! Yup, you just strip down, grab your shower stuff and head'er on in! If you want to turn some heads, walk a naked glowing white ass through a room full of naked Korean women in hot tubs... it's evidently a rare sight!

Once you get past the naked thing, though, it's a pretty awesome place. There's a huge room, full of hot tubs of varying temperatures, again from heavenly to stew. And some cold tubs, with various massaging jets and waterfalls. And about 70 showers, full of naked Koreans, from about our age to about 102. And they're all brushing their teeth... I've noticed this, everyone here brushes their teeth about 10 times a day... must be all the kimchi! The thing I found the most fascinating was the normalcy of it all, like there is no other way to go to a spa! Then again, a lot of these women come at least once a week, so I guess it would be pretty mundane.

Special treatments aren't necessary, but at 25 bucks for an exfoliating body scrub and massage, I had to indulge! Let me just say that in the end it was worth it, but I was seriously questioning my judgement for a while! It may be a little graphic, but the whole thing is just to amusing not to share!! The body care ladies were on lunch, so they were pointed out to us as they were walking to the back where the spa treatment area is... just in the back corner, because why go for privacy at this stage of the game? And of course, they were naked (why not enjoy a little soak on your lunch?!) I thought they were starting to get dressed, but just ended with the first layer... they work in their skivvies. Welcome to big difference #4. So they lie you down on this bed, toss a bucket of water over you, and I mean toss, and then start rubbing you down with a sandpaper mitt. Terribly painful, I kept wincing and I think she was asking me things but nothing was getting through, so I kept saying "mulaiyo! Mulaiyo! (I don't know, I don't know!) so she was laughing at me. So here's the scene... butt naked Laura, being sanded head to toe by a Korean in her bra and undies, making fun of me! And I'm paying for this!! And occasionally she would rinse me off by throwing another bucket of water over me (after a while, my body looked like it was covered in eraser shavings). So the scrub lasted about 35 minutes (it did get better, or else she just scrubbed away all the nerve endings in my skin, I'm not sure which), I'm lying on my stomach and she wraps and nice hot towel over my shoulders. How comforting. Then a little bit of a shoulder rub, very nice. Then she starts to beat me! A few good whacks on the upper back, and the oil comes out. The massage alternated between digging with thumbs, pounding with fists, and whacking with cupped hands! Again, right up there on the scale of weirdest experiences of my life, but it actually felt quite good. Finally, she coated me with soya milk and let me steep for a few minutes. And I admit, I'm pretty durn silky now!

So in short I spent my afternoon naked in a room full of strangers, and paid money for someone to abuse me. But it was phenomenal, and given half a chance I'd do it all again! Now I'm relaxed, happy and smooth, and I will never again have that bad dream where you get up to give a speech and you're in the nude, because I've already lived it!

Hope you're all well, go get some pampering done in my honour! It's worth it!

Yours in the buff,
Laura