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Last week I commented on “Culture Class #17 - The Bathhouse” that there are Korean saunas here in New York, but I didn’t know how soon I’d actually go check it out because I’m not a huge fan of getting naked in public. I actually posted that on Saturday morning, but nonetheless, I found myself at 찜질방 later that same afternoon! I still haven’t quite figured out how I was talked into it, but it probably had something to do with my friend saying, “Come on, 누나~ I don’t want to go all by myself~” However he managed to persuade me, I’m glad for it. It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done! Here is how the day went:

I didn’t know what to expect and I was quite nervous, so the entire time on the way there was spent by me being nervous, and my friend making fun of me. We actually had to get off the subway at the last stop and then take a shuttle (complimentary of the sauna) van to the sauna. When we finally got there, we went into the desk, and got an electronic key that you wear like a watch which opens your lockers in all of the locker rooms, and also serves as a credit card so you can buy things while you are there. You pay for everything on your way out! We separated into the locker rooms where you immediately have to take your shoes off, and got our sauna clothes.

But before we went to the saunas, we decided to go onto the roof deck to check out the accupressure pools (don’t worry, co-ed pools=bathing suits). We went to each station in the 3 massive pools and experienced all the accupressure jets they have. And let me tell you, these are not your average jacuzzi massage jets! We also went into the Japanese style Hinoki bath and sat under the waterfall. We spent two hours just here, but we could have easily stayed there longer.

After we changed back into our sauna clothes and my friend taught me how to make a 양머리 (the towel you wear on your head), we started our sauna adventure in the coolest room - the LED light room, where sitting between panels of colored light of your choosing is supposed to improve your emotional health. After becoming accustomed to the heat, we tried the rest of the sauna rooms, each with it’s own health benefits, temperature, and theme. There was a salt room, a gold room, a far infrared ray room, and even an ice room to cool down in between, but my favorite by far was the jade room. From the outside, it looked like a gemstone igloo! It was one of the hotter rooms, but it was easier to handle than the rest.

Before tackling the hottest room of all, we decided to take a 팥빙수 break in the expansive lounge area. It was my first time eating 팥빙수 and it was incredible! This particular kind was made of shaved ice, sweet red beans, lots of fruit, rice cake, some kind of vegetable powder, condensed milk, chocolate, and ice cream. It is the perfect snack for the sauna! Then onto the hottest room: the traditional korean mud sauna. It was 190 degrees. Neither one of us lasted long!

After a brief tour of the t.v. room, the sleeping area, and another quick spin in the jade sauna, we decided to call it a night. Well, almost. We still had the 목욕탕 and my fear of nudity ahead of us. The locker room was incredible! There were multiple different temperature tubs and showers, and more accupressure jets like the pools outside. And, after the initial shock, it was actually a great experience! I am a big fan of the 이테리 타울.

So, all in all, the whole thing was a great experience! Honestly, I can hardly wait to go back! My Korean friend that I went with said the place we went is the best 찜질방 in America, and I believe him. It is quite a bit more expensive than in Korea (it cost us $45 because it was a weekend), but still most definitely worth it. We were there for six hours, but we have already decided that we’re going in the morning next time so we can spend more time!

I didn’t take any pictures, but if you want to see the place we went, here’s the website.

Anyone else have a 찜질방 experience? Were you as nervous as I was?