Nakedness

On saturday night, after a few soju cocktails, beers, tequila, singing and dancing…I went to a jimjilbang with a friend…for those of you who don’t know what that is…it’s a public bath house/sauna. Very very popular in Korea and you can pretty much find them everywhere. From a foreigner’s perspective, it was quite a daunting experience as it’s extremely rare to find someone who speaks English, so it’s easy to feel abit lost…but at the same time, it was also extremely liberating!

The ajuma at the counter gives us some uniform in an ugly off-brown colour, and off we go. In the locker-room, we see girls/women wearing the uniform with towels wrapped around their heads, and then a couple naked ones walking around like its oh-so-normal (which it is in korea).

Looking at the towel given to us, I wonder what it’s for. It’s too small to wrap around your body, and it definitely doesn’t cover anything. So we decided maybe it was for a fire-run?

Anyways, as there were no English signs whatsoever, we stumble our way into the maze. We randomly opened doors and entered rooms….and most of them had women snoring as they slept on bamboo mats. So, we finally find the sauna room, and we go in. It is infernally hot and it looks like a cave/dungeon. There are bamboo mats and wooden things that are supposedly pillows (and they hurt my head). After a good 10 minutes, we decided to move on. My face was red and my hair was matt from the humidity and heat.

Next, we found the hot baths. Ahh…its empty. Which means its less awkward. There are many plastic stools where you can sit and take a shower/scrub. I’m not used to taking a shower sitting down, so I stand up instead. Then into the hot bath we go. It’s definitely not called hot for nothing. But it feels so good. The increased circulation is meant to increase your metabolism which helps you lose weight. There was even a scale so you could weigh yourself before and after (or as often as you wished…).

I can`t help but notice all the strange body types walking around (even though it was fairly empty…). Some women have saggy breasts or flat butts. Some are really rotund, bony or rectangular. Some people have wayyyy too much hair in places where the sun don’t shine. But I certainly do admire the bravery of these women. And then again, there is no time to be shy at the sauna. Koreans have been bathing in public for ages and being naked together…who cares? I totally agree….who cares what your body looks like. We’re all women and that’s all that matters.

After a few moments of pure relaxation…a naked ajuma walk in and starts cleaning….naked. How interesting a job to have…you get to work naked. Oh the liberation! And then whilst my friend and I were still sitting in the bath, naked ajuma cleaner unplugs it. I suppose its a sign that we should leave?

So we shower and towel off and get dressed and left. What an interesting experience. I definitely wouldn’t mind going again! Its a great place to unwind, condition your hair, and gossip..I meant bond with your fellow friends =)