So here it is. The weekend. Classes are over. Kids will be picked up from their Korean daycare soon. And you know what's on my mind? It includes getting naked, getting into something hot AND cold, and it costs roughly 9,900 Won for us to go. Any guesses?
Here's a hint: It involves doing something us Western folk would normally think of an activity we consider a private matter. Now you give up?
Ok, no more torture, my little pickles. It's called the mo'gyoek-tang(모굑탕). Otherwise, the public bath. And it's the kids' favorite Saturday morning activity! Who would have thought! And no, it's not quite the 'spa' experience, either. It's seriously a cleaning fest!
Check out this funny video I found on Youtube concerning Korean public baths. The animation is quite dead on with what you'd find in the women's bathhouse!
A lovely little thought back to when I posted about the Korean public baths back when I was quite the newbie to Korea and Korean culture (and as a side note, I can't believe I posted that in 2005, well-over 6 years ago!) Rereading it made me snicker (and somewhat shutter!) from the memory of it. So, happy reading down memory lane :)
What is boils down to is that Korean absolutely love the idea of getting clean. In fact, I would almost call it a sacred, cultural act. But you don't have to take my word for it. Check out the following articles for some interesting reads about Korean Bath culture: the KNU times, fellow blogger, or even the LA Times.
Until the next post, happy scrubbing, and eat your pickles, kimchi and coffee!
~ Chelsea
3 comments:
its 목욕탕
슈퍼! Thanks for the spelling check. Seems I overlooked the '기 역' in 목굑탕 :)
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