korean bath house

sam and grace had their friend hanna in town and one of the things she wanted to do was go to a korean bath house.

the mogyok tang/bath part is separated by gender and you basically strip down and you have various jacuzzies and saunas with different temperatures.

but there is also a jjim jjil bang which is co-ed and everyone wears a shirt and short set given by the spa; we noted that it looks sort of like a concentration camp because everyone is wearing the same thing and we have a wrist band with a number. the jjim jjil bang has food and an open area where you can lay down on mats and play games or chat but there are also other saunas where you can sweat and rid your skin of toxins before going to the bath to exfoliate and soak.

the first time i went was for charles' birthday party. haha and i actually felt that the nakedness was a very opening experience. the second time around i enjoyed it a lot and it wasn't as shocking to be in the bath area.

we saw a lot of young girls walking around naked with the older women and it made me wonder how experiences like being in a public bath house would shape their young minds. would they be more comfortable with their body because they have seen so many different shapes of women? would it open them to their sexuality prematurely? i wonder...

i will say though, that it is a bonding experience on the whole and especially for family members. for moms to tend to their young and the like. it was a good day at the bath house with friends.

i wanted to post this picture because i thought it was funny.