My Experience of Staying Over at the Jjimjjilbang
Have you ever heard of a word jjimjjilbang ( 찜찔방 ) ? Yes, it’s a place for you to relax your mind and body by taking a bath at the sauna. First, I was so interested of having my first jjimjjilbang experience when my friends invited me to stay over there after having party all night long in a night club in Daejeon. I actually had no idea what jjimjjilbang looked like. I just felt excited, at that time. But then I turned up to be a bit frightened because I saw people were naked in front of me. Okay, they are all women, but still, this kind of scenery was something weird for me.
Ahjummas were walking around me without any clothes attached on their bodies. Then I asked my friend, ” Hey, can I just wear my shorts to take a bath ? “. My friend looked at me with a weird look and then she said, ” Of course, not. You have to take all of your clothes off. If not, people will stare at you. “. I was already very sleepy and my body smelled cigarette smokes. All of my friends were very excited to get in the pools. I was left alone since I decided not to take a bath since I was afraid to be naked in front of the people. Hahahaha but then my male friend told me that he did take all of his clothes off but since there were some weird stares toward him, he decided to get off of the pool quickly and put his clothes on. But then at my second time visiting jjimjjilbang, I was brave enough to take my clothes off and bath together with my friends. They said, ” Ah, you’re brave enough now huh ? Hahahaha how’s it ? Isn’t it nice ? “. I was just embarrassed because of her saying. Actually is jjimjjilbang that scary ? Actually no. It’s an interesting place to stay over if you have a tight budget. I usually stayed in a jjimjjilbang in Rodeo Town building in Daejeon. If you come at the middays, you need to pay 8.000 won per night, but if you come at night, you need to pay 10.000 won per night. After paying, you will get a T-shirt and shorts also 2 pieces of small towels also a shoe locker key which is like a bracelet. Then we choose our lockers to save our stuffs. If you want to take a bath, you have to take all of your clothes off. Before getting inside of the pool, you should wash your body first so the germs won’t get inside of the pool. There are 4-5 pools in Rodeo Town jjimjjilbang. Each of them has its own temperature, from the hottest until the coldest.
You also can find sauna room to refresh your body. After cleaning all parts of our bodies, you can put your ‘ jjimjjilbang outfit ‘ on and enjoy all of interesting facilities which are available there. There are canteen, karaoke room, massage service, and even fitness center.
Don’t forget to eat ‘jjimjjilbang eggs’ . It’s sold 1.000 won for 2 eggs and to crack the egg shell, you have to bump the eggs to your head. It’s not a must, but it’s kind of a habit in jjimjjilbang. You won’t look weird if you don’t do it though. Then refresh your throat with sikhye served with ice cubes. Soooo refreshing !
In the beginning, you were given 2 small towels, weren’t you ? There’s a unique way to shape a ‘ jjimjjilbang hat ‘. It looks like a sheep and you will look very cute! 
If you feel like to sleep, there are a lot of spots to sleep. Some jjimjjilbangs provide rooms for people to sleep. There are some separated rooms for women and men and also mixed rooms. Or you can simply lay down in the big hall with your friends. They are quite comfortable and it’s enough to stretch your body out.
If you travel to Korea and look for a cheap accommodation, put jjimjjilbang on your list to save up your money. Moreover, you can feel the real Korean culture here. How about your jjimjjilbang experience ? You can put your comments below!