Freedom!

What freedom am I talking about you ask? Naked freedom. Yup I got naked in front of a bunch of people. Don't worry, Mom, it wasn't because of a night of drinking soju. It was because I went to a Korean public bath. You see, Koreans love their spas, saunas and massage rubs. So they have these jimjilbongs (spa and sauna) houses all over. You go to your respected sex section, get naked and enjoy hot pools and even hotter saunas.

Being an average North American, getting naked in front of strangers was not high on my list. But after hearing so many people here rant and rave about the sauna experience, my thinking changed. Thankfully, my friend Carely-who is a jimjilbong expert-was kind enough to take me to experience my first naked spa experience. We went to the new water park area called the Ocean Resort (see the site) and it was perhaps the fanciest thing I've seen in Korea. Modern, clean, and cheap.

The only thing I can say is "What took me so long?". The water was wonderful, the sauna was hot, the massage jets in the pools were fabulous. I was there with a whole bunch of naked ajumas (old woman) who could give two craps about my body. They were loving the pools too. It was wonderful and freeing.

The great thing about the Ocean's waters is that they help in:

"Aging prevention, eliminating germs and detoxification, treatments against female discharge, neuralgia and headache, skin care, stress relief, enhanced blood circulation.The waves of body heat from the yellow earth provide warmth and cleanness for building children’s character and especially great for students who are preparing for exams."

The waters are also great for "women's secretions and infertility".

Yup, thats right, only females who have discarge and secretion problems benefit. Nice to know where I can go next time I have 'issues'! Benefits and all, it was pretty fun, and definately different experience. Now I just have to convince Ed to go!