Beauty Treatments

As I have probably mentioned before, Koreans are very health conscious. They exercise and eat well as a rule, even into their old age. We met a man who claimed he was 70 by the river one evening (he wanted to practice a little English) and he informed us that every night after dinner he walks 10 miles along the river path…

Koreans also like to relax in the sauna and spend money on beauty treatments and massages to stay young. Luckily its about a tenth of the price of the UK so we can indulge as well. I had my first facial and massage the other weekend and 2 hours only cost around £10.

There is one rather mysterious process, though, and its called ‘cupping’. It’s a bit like acupuncture – hot cups are placed on the skin and they create suction, like a vacuum. Apparently it eases blood flow, tension and stress etc. Some celebs now seem to be keen on this but I think it goes back a way in Korean culture. The funny thing about it is that it leaves these huge bruises and when Paul saw a woman in the swimming pool who had had it done, he thought she had been beaten up… Its not supposed to be painful but after seeing the bruises, I’m not sure I will be trying it all that soon!

Gyms and Jimjilbangs

Since the galbie and soju diet was starting to take its toll on my hips, I decided to join a gym here. Mostly it’s pretty standard – although they like to sweat when they exercise so its as hot inside as out – apart from the workout outfits! The older ladies love their 80s revival…. I mean full-on leopard print leotards, bright leg warmers, the works..! Brilliant style choices.

Korea is also full of jimjilbangs or public bath houses. They’re most akin to saunas from the rest of the world, with the nudity (and separate male – female areas, of course!!) which seems to be obligatory outside the UK or US! It felt a little weird at first, thanks to the old Brit prudishness, but everyone else is so unbothered by it all that you get used to bowling about naked pretty quickly. The main novelty (and highlight) is the price – its only a few pounds so there’s no excuse not to go as often as you like. Best time is after a long hiking spell – another of Korea’s favorite pastimes!

In the larger saunas, there’s a dazzling array of hottubs and steam rooms – so far, we’ve experienced lavendar baths, hot rock (like lying in a giant bowl of coco pops) and sea salt saunas and an ice room that looked strangely like the inside of a fridge.

Even though the male – female bath bits are separate, the big ones also have a sleeping section where you can bed down for a few quid (if you can stand the snoring chorus) and enjoy even more different kinds of saunas with your other half. This bit obviously isn’t done clothes-less: they give you a ‘uniform’ to wear. Pink for girls, green or blue for boys… think something out of a bad prison movie and you’re not far off!

There’s one more odd little spa treat we’ve done too – it’s called ‘Dr Fish’. Basically you pop your feet into a little bath and special fishes nibble on the ‘imperfections’ around your toes! Tickles a little…