Asia Weekly

South Korea Travel News

Hothouse of fun

For South Koreans, the "good life" consists of a hot floor and a steaming plate, both of which, and more, can be found within the halls of a 24-hour public bathhouse, says Choe Sang-Hun in The New York Times. There are more than 13,400 bathhouses in the country, many of which evolved from simple hot springs and saunas into complexes comprising beauty salons, massage parlours and even sleeping rooms for "harried salary-earners." For just $7, guests can pick up their shorts and towel to enter the baths, or pay a bit more to be given a good going over by a scrubber who flips customers' bodies "with the dexterity of a fishmonger." Elsewhere, "fathers huff on treadmills" and couples take in a movie lying on heated wooden floors, while teenage singletons "bang away at keyboards" playing Internet games. In the saunas, patrons concentrate on sweating, crouching amid jade and amethyst, which are believed to "emit healing rays when heated." The act of bathing is also an essential part of Korean society. "We don't consider someone a real friend until we take a bath together," said 25-year-old student Han Jae-kwan.

 

 

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