Saturday, April 22, 2006

About the Mokgyeok/Mokgyuk Tang

Related Terms:
Mokgyuk Tang = Public Bath House.
Jjim Jil Bang = Public Bath House with Big Co-Sex Sauna Rooms.
Sauna = Public Bath House with Single-Sex Sauna in the bath area.
Ajuma= A term for older woman like Mrs. or ma’am; For example, a woman at a store, the fruit stand woman, the woman walking down the street, etc. She is usually your mother’s age or older. Thing is, they are brawlic, tough, loud, and always right (at least these are the stereotypes). They may look old sometimes, but they can out-climb you on any mountain, out-sell you on any product, out-scold you when someone does not give up their seat to an elderly person on the bus. There’s a joke that there are three genders in Korea: 1) Male, 2) Female, and 3) Ajuma. Basically, she can kick anyone’s ass.

Ok, so in response to Jubin's question about whether women just chill in the mokgyuk tangs like the men, of course they do. I'm always paranoid that all the women must be staring at my naked ass as I walk from my locker --where I've stripped off all my clothes-- to the bath area, but that would be silly. If they were staring at me, they'd have to be gaping at the girl who is sitting stark naked on the square wooden bench in front of the TV, resting on her arm that is propped up on one knee, while her other leg is straddled the other way as she is just chillin.

Ew shame on you for trying too hard to imagine this and are enjoying it.

Anyway, the public bath houses are quite an experience. I used it hate it when I was young. My dad used to try and force me to go alone when I was 12, but now that there are those huge co-sex saunas, it's more worth it now. They give you baggy, jammy like things so no b-day suits! Else you'd burn your stuff.

The sauna rooms are usually large, the walls are made of an arrangement of green, pink, and white rocks, crystals, stones of some kind and the heat comes pouring in from behind a scented wood wall --maybe sandalwood?

So the process is as follows:
1. Set up: You enter the building, pay, and get your baggy shorts and t-shirt
2. Opposite Sex Friends: If you go with friends of the opposite sex, you say your goodbyes in the elevator and go to different floors to your respective locker rooms.
3. The Lockers: The elevator doors open and there are many mini lockers. Don't strip here! This is just for your shoes. With your key you proceed inside to the room where you will strip, blow dry your hair, or chill out with some boiled eggs and banana milk.
4. Undressing: In following room find your clothing locker and strip.
5. Sweating: Put on your baggy clothes for sweating.
6. Party in the Saunas: Go meet your opposite sex friends on the next floor where the huge sauna rooms are.
7. Begin with any room...usually there are two: 45 and 65 degrees celcius and then a cold room. 8. Hang out as long as you want. Occassionally going out in the the large hall to watch TV or pass out on the floor. There may even be rooms off to the side to sleep in for any where from 20 minutes to the whole night (but it's pretty open so you can't be drooling unless you want everyone to see).
9. Refreshments: Make sure you get an ice cold sweet rice drink.
10. Bye boyfriend: Go back to the saunas for a while, then say see ya later to your opposite-sex friends cuz you head back to your locker room.
11. Get naked again: Strip.
12. Get clean: Go to the bath area.
Now the bath area: jacuzzi pools with vary degrees of warm water and usually one huge pool of cold water. Stand up showers to the right and another area to the left where you can sit on stools and scrub yourself with your own little personal shower. The Bath
13. No sweat in the jacuzzis!: Go soap down.
14. Jacuzzi: Now that you’re clean, jump into the pools for a while and relax.
15. Exfoliate: When ready, go the area with the personal sit-down showers. With your little green, scratchy, pocket-like scrubber, and exfoliate till you turn as red as a lobster! **You also have a choice to get a massage or be exfoliated by a huge ajuma in her sweaty tank top and big panties.
16. All the other shower stuff: Shampoo, Rinse, Repeat if desired. Apparently most Koreans brush their teeth in the shower (which I always thought was normal until I met non-Koreans who would get weirded out when I’d do it…so anyway, whatever’s your bag), so this is when you’d brush your teeth and do your masks, etc.
17. Almost done: Back to the locker room. Lotion up, grab a Banana milk and boiled egg and chill with the naked girl or put your panties on and blow-dry your hair next to an ajuma.
19. Put those clothes back on!: Get dressed and leave the way you came in.
20. DONE.

1 Comments:

Blogger E said...

Yikes! I am all about the spa experience...but I don't think this is my type of spa...When ya coming home cousin?? It's been forever and I miss you. Love, Eileen

1:04 PM  

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