Jjimjilbang

Last Friday night, Dan and I had date night in Gangnam at the Brazilian restaurant, Brazilia. This type of steakhouse offers continuous table side service of 3 cuts of meat, a gourmet salad, and the most authentic Brazilian side dishes you can get in Korea. Usually Brazilian restaurants give the thinnest slices of meats but we hit the steak jackpot. Our portions were very generous to say the least and we ate our money's worth all for 22,000 won ($19) each. Fun times heading into Seoul enjoying great food and my hubby's company.
On the bus to the restaurant Dan had an idea out of nowhere. We have lived in Korea for over a year now and he thought it was about time we did something we have been putting off. So we (I reluctantly) decided to go to a Jjimjilbang, a huge Korean-style sauna/spa. Thinking we might regret not going there for so long and the fear we might actually enjoy it. Many of our friends have been raving about the jjimjilbang. The main reason we haven't gone is to enjoy the spa you are required to be in your birthday suit. As a foreigner, Emart can be very a traumatizing experience with people pointing and staring. Going to a place where you're required to be naked is not my idea of fun.
So we arrived at the tree-lined walkway and entered the 7 story jjimjilbang. Paid/checked in for 12,000 won ($10) at the front desk. We were given a towel, T-shirt, shorts, and a locker key with a sensor to use as virtual cash in case you needed to purchase extra services. We walked through the lobby where you put your shoes in a locker followed by a path that leads you into a gender separated areas or the common area with a restaurant, snack bar, nail salon, spa, gym, and a enormous T.V. room. Dan and I said our good byes and picked a meeting time to catch the bus home. I changed into the provided clothes having no idea what to do. I wandered around to get a feel for the place trying to mimic everyone else. I headed fully clothed to the second floor where everyone was stark naked and ran into some foreigners. Our conversation went like this,"Hi my name is Latanya I'm not looking at your boobs but I have no idea what I'm supposed to be doing." They laughed and said this must be your first time here. They told me this floor was the naked zone/sauna/spa area. I changed and went down stairs hiding behind my 2" x 2" towel and explored the grounds. There were various kinds of rooms: a traditional charcoal oven room, pine tree firewood sweat room, crystal light salt room, Hinoki forest bath room, yellow earth pyramid room, natural jade energy room, and an ice room. There was also a room for fertility, I literally ran in the other direction hoping I didn't inhale any fumes. You can soak in hot or cold tubs with natural ingredients such as green tea or ginseng. This is not just a place for beauty, it's a place where families go to relax and spend time together. Jjimjilbang's are open 24 hours a day and are thus used as overnight lodging as well. On the bus ride home we could barely keep our eyes opened we were too relaxed. Really glad we tried this and will definitely be back again.