Busan, South Korea (CNN) — In the US, a mall is a place to get a slice of pizza from Sbarro and buy some T-shirts at the Gap.
But in South Korea, it’s a place where you can experience a jjimjilbang, an element of the country’s unique spa culture.
Premium spas can be found tucked inside the country’s many modern mega-malls, but none are quite as memorable as the one waiting in the southern coastal city of Busan.
This brilliant silver and white structure could easily be mistaken for a high-end condo building or a design museum. But Shinsegae Centum City is actually the world’s largest department store, clocking in at 3.16 million square feet.
Past the Chanel makeup counter and dizzying rows of designer handbags is a black glass door, where shoppers and locals alike pour into Spa Land.
This isn’t a place to sit in a private room and get pampered. Jjimjilbangs – comprised of two Korean words, jjimjil (heated therapy) and bang (room) – are like a Japanese onsen crossed with a Finnish sauna. Guests go into gender-separated areas, then strip down and soak in one of the heated pools on offer. If you’ve seen the part in K-Pop Demon Hunters where the girls wrap towels around their hair and veg out in the heated bath together, then you’ve already gotten the idea of what a jjimjilbang is like.
Soaking and relaxing in hot water is fun. However, the most special part comes after you’ve soaked – a full body scrubdown that makes you feel like you’ve been reborn with brand-new baby skin.
Okay, so it might seem unusual to disrobe in front of strangers and be naked in the middle of a high-end mall. But it’s a special, uniquely Korean experience, and it’s especially appropriate since the country’s first-ever jjimjilbang opened right here in Busan.
The old history of a young tradition
According to Lee In-hye, author of “History of Bathing,” relaxing and recovering from illness in heated rooms is a concept that dates to Korea’s Joseon dynasty.
Traditionally, floors were heated through a system called ondol, and people would lie down on these floors to warm up. But as the country modernized, more and more people left traditional Korean houses and began moving into urban apartment blocks, which had centralized heating systems.
For some people, though, it just wasn’t the same. As Lee tells it, a group of Busan women tried to re-create a kind of ondol for themselves by lying down on a heated floor in a shared building, making a sort of city-specific bath house. And thus the modern jjimjilbang was born.
Soon, the idea caught on in Seoul, particularly in the densely packed Gangnam neighborhood. In July 1995, the South Korean government legally recognized jjimjilbangs and established guidelines for them.
Today, with thousands of jjimjilbangs around the country, various spas have been offering more services to lure patrons away from the competition. They have become a full-service industry, with beauty treatments, snack bars, nail salons, cafes and sleeping rooms. Some have salt, clay or charcoal saunas. The truly committed can spend an entire day there, with no need to interact with the outside world.
Getting naked in a shared space can definitely be uncomfortable for some foreigners, but it can also be incredibly empowering. It’s common for multigenerational groups of women to come to the jjimjilbang together, so you might see a grandmother, mother, and granddaughter all hanging out and chatting as they soak. Friends take turns pinning up each other’s hair and younger women helping older ones get out of the bath without slipping. Here, body positivity is more than a buzzword.
Getting ready for the scrubdown
The global popularity of South Korean food, movies, music, and beauty products is known as hallyu, or the Korean Wave. A decade ago, foreign travelers might have spent a day or two in Seoul before moving on. Now, tourists are spending more time exploring the country, and Busan offers a more laid-back complement to the capital.
Its geography is also a bonus, because there’s natural spring water that gets pumped from deep underground into the city’s jjimjilbangs.
For a first-time visitor to South Korea or a communal-spa novice, the ease, location, and English-friendliness of Shinsegae Centum City Spa Land make it a perfect starting point. It has become increasingly popular with the international tourists who have been flocking to South Korea, with a 50-50 locals-foreigners split on a typical day. In all, there are 22 pools in a range of temperatures and sizes. Some visitors will choose one and just stay put and relax for a while, but others skip around to try different ones – there’s no right answer.
Spa Land has several rooms, including red clay and charcoal saunas. And, given the spa’s popularity with international visitors, management tells CNN that they keep trying to add new features.
“To help visitors experience Korea’s unique jjimjilbang and spa culture, we offer distinctive features including the popular “sheep head towel” zone, themed sauna rooms with a variety of temperatures, and outdoor foot baths,” says Choi Jae-kwang, Spa Land manager. The sheep head towels are when the white towels many guests use to tie up their hair are folded into a pattern that makes them look like fluffy sheep.
“We strive to be more than just a place to relax,” he adds. “Our goal is to establish Spa Land as the premier K-spa destination.”
Although there is a large sign at the entrance saying that tattoos are not permitted, this rule seems to be selectively enforced, particularly for people whose ink is hidden by their clothes. Guests are issued a wristband with a number that represents their designated locker plus two white hand towels and a pair of shorts and a tee they can wear in the locker room.
After getting undressed and leaving their belongings in a locker, guests walk into the main spa. First, they’ll need to head to the right and use one of the showers – shampoo and body cleanser are provided, but there are also vending machines to buy products like face wash. People with long hair should tie it up so that it won’t drip into the water.
From there, visitors have a range of pools to pick from. Each one has a large sign in front showing the water’s temperature (in Celsius, unfortunately for Americans), and an attendant walks by periodically to re-confirm the number.
Before getting into the water, though, it’s time for to sign up for a body scrub, called ttaemiri in Korean.
“Having a scrub and enjoying the sauna and jjimjilbang is one of the best ways to experience the essence of Korean bathing culture,” says Lee, the author.
To the left of the pool room entrance, the spa manager has a whiteboard of available attendants and time slots. It’s okay if you don’t speak Korean – show your bracelet number, and she’ll put you down for the next available session. If you’re not wearing a watch, no problem – she’ll come around with a small white board bearing the next number when your time comes up. Spending time soaking makes sure your skin is warmed up and ready to go when it’s time for the scrub.
Once you enter the spa room, you’ll need to lie down on a massage table that’s covered in plastic. Then an underwear-clad ajumma (auntie) will rinse you with warm, soapy water and get to work – inch by inch scrubbing every single bit of excess skin off of your body with scratchy hand mitts. She may ask you to move around, like by holding your hands above your head so she can reach the sides of your chest.
It can feel vulnerable, but the aunties are businesslike and efficient. Between scrub sessions, they’ll wash you down with a bucket of warm water before asking you to turn over or move to the side.
While many elements of the jjimjilbang are rooted in Korean history, there is one notable modern addition: smartphones.
Lee, the author and bathing culture expert, cautions spa visitors to be mindful of the fact that they’re in a room full of naked people.
“The most important rule is not to make video calls or record videos. A selfie showing only yourself may be acceptable, but filming a reel or social media content should be avoided,” she says.
“People are also sensitive about hygiene and generally dislike seeing hair in the bathtubs. Because these are shared spaces, it is also important not to drip water everywhere after leaving the bath, speak too loudly, or use too many towels.”
Most of the rules, though, exist so people can relax, not to crack down on fun. The potential risk of dropping your smartphone into 90-degree F water is a good excuse to unplug and disconnect.
“A jjimjilbang can feel as comfortable as your own room,” Lee adds.
And considering the entry fee is just 20,000 won ($14), it’s much less expensive than a luxury watch – although you can get one of those here too.
The-CNN-Wire
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