A few weeks back, a fellow Greek friend, who I’ve known nearly all my life wanted to celebrate her birthday at a spa. I agreed to attend without asking questions. Then, as the time drew nearer I started doing some research and was highly intrigued on where we were going, a Korean spa (Jjimjilbang). The more I researched, the more my prude, Catholic upbringing, caused some sincere trepidations. Let’s just put it out there, I don’t even like wearing swim suits and when nudity is involved – forget about it! I couldn’t believe I was even still considering attending once I discovered the truth about this place. I was certain it wasn’t legit and this was some seriously funny joke, in which the punchline ended with me. Well, it wasn’t. After a host of seriously hilarious texts between all of my friends – we were all in stitches laughing and the birthday girl was far from entertained (Maria, I love you and our sarcasm was only there to cover our fears of the unknown). We had stressed her out and made what was supposed to be stress-free, no longer as much. Although our comments and inappropriate texts were just our way of dealing with the concerns we had – birthday girl was certainly not amused. Rest assured this was the most entertaining, relaxing, humbling experience I have had yet.
Traffic was a bear, so I was late, which did not assist me in my stress level. This was all so out of my comfort zone. I walked in and my friends were all waiting. You pay a fee to enter the baths and saunas, but there are additional costs for massages, scrubs, facials, dinner, etc.
I decided I would get a scrub, not really sure what all that entailed. 5 of us had our scrubs at the same time and were all up-sold to get the vital cell scrub, plus massage and hair shampoo and condition. A steal of deal for as little as $85 you got an hour body scrub, massage, freshly ground cucumber facial, as well as your hair shampooed and conditioned. Talk about feeling pampered at pennies on the dollar. Here’s the guide to your spa visit. http://www.kingspa.com/d-guide.php
Immediately, upon entering the spa dressing area, I was so apprehensive. The sheer idea of complete nudity petrified me, and a mere second after walking in – an older Asian lady was nude and bent over (I was faced with the reality of where I was, this was no joke). The nudity barrier had officially been broken. My fears were officially at the forefront and there was nothing I could do now, but laugh and join the club or turn and run – I chose the former.
We had an amazing time, we laughed, we joked and the whole time we were yes, nude. As much as I was apprehensive about my night at the King Spa, the results were amazing. My vital cell scrub and massage left my skin glowing and me feeling more relaxed than I had in months.
We tried many different sauna rooms – each had a different purpose or theme.
My favorite rooms and rooms I was able to stand for more than 5 minutes were the:
Pine Salt Room
And the Pyramind room.
The above pictured hot tubs were pretty great as well, once you got over the nudity factor.
We also all enjoyed the Infrared Room (pictured below) – which was supposed to help with chronic pain. I probably could have slept in there, I was so relaxed by then.
Our scrubs were incredible, but yet another humbling experience. We were called from our hot tub to to a partitioned area in the bath area, where we were all together (yes, still nude). The Korean masseuse’s proceed to have us lie on a table and poured hot water over us. Next, they used a scrubber with a salt scrub and scoured our entire body, minus the sensitive girl areas of course. It was definitely an experience – the scrub felt great, as long as you didn’t look over at your neighbor and realize how silly you looked lying there fully exposed and usually with a nearly naked Asian lady on your back.
We ate in the cafe, watched some t.v. and spent time in many of the sauna rooms. I now get why Koreans enjoy delving into this treat. It certainly was relaxing and an experience I got to share with some dear friends. Who knew a spa that resembled the size and stature of a casino could be so incredible. I don’t think I would return alone, but certainly among the company of good friends, its a great experience.
Cameras are of course highly discouraged and without the help of a flash, its hard to make out some of our faces, but below are a few outtakes of us lying in the sauna rooms. Let me know your experience with the Jjimjilbang. Have you been? Would you go now?
