Thank you, Asia series "Jjimjilbangs" (83 days left)

 March 9, 2021

Before we left Wisconsin, Brent and I owned a hottub for most of our married life.  When we landed in Korea we learned about the jjimjilbangs - public baths.  It took a bit of adjusting, but once we were used to them we loved it.  

There was a jjimjilbang only a five minute walk away, so once or twice a week we could wander over with our toiletries to hang out in the public baths and relax.  In case you are unaware, these baths are organized by gender.  Males go to one area and females to another.  There you strip down naked, shower off or scrub really well and then can enter any number of hot to cold tubs.  There are also saunas, manicures, pedicures, and a scrubbing station where you can hire someone else to scrub your whole body - and I mean whole body in view of everyone else.  I never got brave enough to do it, but it was entertaining to watch a woman in her panties and bra scrub another woman until she shone and then slide off the table like a fish flopping off of a counter. 

The path to the jjimjilbang

The public baths have another floor too.  This one is more social and family oriented.  Here both genders can reunite in the "gym clothes" issued by the establishment.  You can get snacks or bring your own picnic for the open area or head off to side rooms of various temperatures from very cold to very hot, some with stones to lay on. 

For less that $10 you can hang out as long as you like, even all day or all night.  For us this was money well-spent for the relaxation and stress-reduction it afforded.  Thank you, Korea, for all the great baths.