A Korean friend of mine put me in touch with a university friend of her's who spent the afternoon with me and another girl in my May term group. We toured Bukchon Hanok Village (북촌한옥마을) and did a photo shoot with the hanboks, and then at night I had my first experience visiting a Korean bathhouse, jjimjilbang (찜질방)!
Bukchon Hanok Village (북촌한옥마을)
Located outside the walls of Gyeongbokgung (경복궁) Palace, the Bukchon Hanok Village (북촌한옥마을) is home to hundreds of traditional Korean houses, called hanok (한옥), that date back to the Joseon Dynasty. Bukchon, which literally translates to "northern village," became the village's name since the village lies north of two significant Seoul landmarks, Cheonggyecheon Stream and Jongno.
Hanok architecture is designed in consideration to the positioning of the house in relation to its surroundings, and the interior structure is planned accordingly. This planning principle is called Baesanimsu (배산임수), meaning that the ideal house is built with a mountain in the back and a river in the front. Baesanimsu utilizes the ondol heated rock system, a heating system unique to South Korea, during cold winters and a wide daecheong (대청) front porch for keeping the house cool during hot summers.
In 1996, the South Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism established "Hanbok Day" to encourage South Korean citizens to wear hanboks. Based on what I saw at Gyeongbokgung, it worked.
A woman's hanbok consists of jeogori, a blouse shirt or a jacket, and chima, a wrap-around skirt. The ensemble is often called chima jeogori. Men's hanboks consist of jeogori and loose-fitting pants. During the Joseon dynasty the women's jeogori drastically shortened, reaching its shortest length in the late 19th century, but reformation efforts and practical reasons caused the modern jeogori to be longer than its earlier counterpart.
We were able to rent fancy hanboks (ones with designs on the chima) for only ₩30,000 ($27). The price included the hanbok, hair styling, and 2.5 hours in which to wander anywhere we chose. Additionally, by wearing hanboks, admission to Gyeongbokgung Palace was waived and we entered for free!
In Korea, jjimjilbang (찜질방), or bathhouses, are an essential part of Koreans' beauty routines, as jjimjilbang are where you can go for a deep-skin scrub at the bath or a good sweat session at the sauna. However, jjimjilbang are so much more: they often include a beauty salon, entertainment center, and resting rooms where people can spend the night. And all this for only ₩6,000-10,000 ($6-9). It's no wonder some people stay in jjimjilbangs during the workweek instead of commuting home each night.
This was one experience I definitely wanted to try while in Korea, and not just because I love a good deep-skin scrub (though those are always nice too). What interested me so much was the fact the bath and changing areas of the jjimjilbangs are clothes-free zones, i.e., welcome to the buff. In America, we face a great dichotomy between shunning the body while simultaneously hyper-sexualizing it. People are embarrassed, even afraid, to be naked in front of others, since we have been conditioned since birth to feel uncomfortable in our own skin. When reading mangas I was fascinated by these bathhouses where everyone seemed so comfortable engaging with each other regardless of their state of dress, and wanted to experience such an openness myself.
The place I went, Siloam Sauna, ended up being quite expensive—₩15,000—so I did not pay for a deep-skin scrub, but the baths felt so nice after the chilly night air. The majority of women there were older, but I did see a few moms with their toddlers and a pair of girls who looked to be in their early teens. I could tell the older women and mothers were comfortable in their nudity, and it was cute to see how giddy the two younger girls were in what was likely a still-new experience for them (visiting a jjimjilbang by themselves as young adults, not kids). I visited late at night when I was tired, which definitely helped taking off all my clothes less nerve-wracking, but once I settled into the baths I felt relaxed right away. This is definitely an experience I would like to try again when I return, with extra money put aside for a deep-skin scrub next time.