When I first moved to South Korea I was totally open to new experiences, as I moved to a new land in seek of adventure…however the thought of visiting a Korean bathing house was enough to make my heart stop and send me into a panic.
If you are not familiar with Korean bathing houses, or saunas/ jimjilbangs, it is a place where you can go to bathe naked. The whole ‘naked’ thing has freaked me out for as long as I can remember- I used to despise swimming class for the fear of having to get dressed in front of another person, and god forbid they got a glimpse of my boobies (hehe). I used to be way to shy to get undressed in front of anyone, and would always dash into the toilet cubicle to change into my swimming costume…but why?
Coming to Korea and finally taking the plunge to join the hoard of naked ladies in the communal bathes was the scariest and most liberating thing I could have ever done for myself. It has made me realise that:
1) women are actually all the same and no matter how skinny or fat we all feel shy at some point,
2) being naked is actually no big deal
3) its awesome to be free
Now it has taken me about one year and a handful of different bathing houses to actually get to the point where I don’t care to get naked and join a bunch of grandma’s in the pool. Before reaching this point I used to feel terrified to even step near to a sauna,as I felt like the Korean women used to stare at me, but as of late and the more often I go I realise they don’t even bat an eye.Now however I cant think of anything better than to lie big warm bath while the women around scrub of all their skin, suction cup their bodies to death and splash away half of the bath water in an attempt for some exercise,
Since I joined my most recent gym and finally took the gym and sauna combo, I visit the sauna every day after exercising. I find it extremely relaxing and way nicer than rushing home. What I have noticed from all my visits is that in Korea going to the sauna is more for a social reason than to actually ‘scrub down and get clean’, as many women spend a good two hours in the bath room just sitting in the water, watching tv (yes, there is a TV), chatting to each other or getting a dose of swimming action (the pools/baths are not deep but enough to kick and splash).
So if you have never been to a communal bathing house here is the low down on what to expect:
You walk in, pay about 8 000 – 12 000W and get a set of clothes, two towels and a key (or two).
You first take off your shoes and leave them at the door or put them in a shoe locker.
You then find you clothes locker, get naked and take your shower stuff and towel (optional) to the wash area.
You first pre-rinse yourself off and then can choose to either go scrub down at one of the seated showers or go for a bath.
If you go for a bath there are usually three or more baths of varying heat, and sometimes even a herbal bath (in the fancier saunas)
You can then wash off again and choose to either take a nap in a heated room, take a nap on the floor or get dressed and go home.
You don’;t need to wear the cloths if you don’t intend to stay there for a while/
Some jimjilbangs also serve meals and have TVs so you can spend all night there if you really want to.
If you have never been to one before but get the opportunity to go, I recommend you do. It is a real experience and you will be shocked at how much you might actually enjoy it!
