My first jjimjilbang experience in Spaland

I already expected that I was going to M.I.A. from internet, blogging, life, and stuff when I started to work at the game company that I went for an internship last summer. Office life was so busy that I had to work overtime a lot. I took a leave for 2 weeks because my parents came for graduation (YASSS~ I finally graduated from uni!).

But no, this post is not about work rants (because it's gonna be super long like Nile river). It's about Spa Land!

For some people who didn't know, Spa Land is like an exclusive jjimjilbang (traditional Korean sauna). It is located in Shinsegae, Centum City, Busan. At first, I didn't want to come there. Taking a bath together with strangers was totally a big no for me but I was really curious with jjimjilbang. My friends said that it was not dirty at all and it looked elegant (and looked more expensive), unlike other jjimjilbang. So I decided to go with them.

Admission Fees:

• Adults: 13,000 won (weekdays) / 15,000 won (weekends & holidays)
• Students (middle & high school): 10,000 won (weekdays) / 12,000 won (weekends & holidays)
• Early bird (Admission before 9:00): 8,000 won (weekdays) / 10,000 won (weekends & holidays)
• Night time special (Admission after 20:00): 8,000 won (weekdays) / 10,000 won (weekends & holidays)

Okay! So the first thing after we pay our money, we will be led to these shoe lockers~

This photo of Shinsegae Centum City Spaland is courtesy of TripAdvisor

You can see that their keys are kinda unique, because it's really important. DON'T LOSE IT. If you want to buy anything in Spaland, this little key is like our credit card, so we can pay what we buy inside later when we get out.

Next, they will give us the clothes (you know that T-shirt and short pants) and 2 towels (don't worry if you use all of them because they also provide clean towels inside). After that we went into the big locker room where men and women were separated. This big locker room is where you can put all of your belongings, bags, etc. It also leads to two ways: bath hall and spa hall. Be ready because lots of people are naked in this room.

Anyway I don't really know the exact routine for this because my friends have different routines. It's either going into the spa first or the hot bath first. We finally decided that it would be best to go to spa first because after the hot bath we would totally do our make up again and this way, we wouldn't have to do it twice. We changed into the T-shirt and short pants that were given at the front door.

It looks so amazing inside! I can totally understand the appeal why people likes to go to Spaland. It looks really cool for a jjimjilbang. I have never seen a jjimjilbang like this in any Korean dramas. By the way, Spaland was divided in two parts: spa hall, where men and women can chill out together here, and bath hall, which I will explain later.

See those doors? Those are spa rooms. Each has different temperatures and interiors. I can't really stand hot situation so basically 35 degrees are already too much for me. I went inside a 60 degrees one and my head feels like it's gonna explode.

We went inside some rooms but then it gets more crowded and there's no place for us to sit inside. We bought boiled eggs, pork sausages, and sikhye (a traditional sweet Korean rice beverage), then we sat on the ondol floor.

After that, we put on a coat that were provided near a gate that led to foot pool spa.

Let me remind you again, I went there during winter. Freeeeziiiing~~~ brrrr

But the water was very warm and it was so fun to get slapped by the chilly wind but my feet were inside the warm water~

The next part was just an act of lazying up.

Yep. A place where you can sleep or take a nap. We took a nap for 30 or 45 minutes then we realized it was already lunch time.

The third floor of Spaland contains restaurant, cafe, and massages parlor. Spaland's restaurant is really special because their cooks are from Westin Chosun Hotel (an expensive hotel in Korea), thus I couldn't wait for the dishes to come out!

Haejangguk (해장국)

Sorry I forgot what was this

Mine! 낙지새우볶음~

The prices was around 10.000 KRW. They are worth it though!

Some selfies because we need selfies everywhere we go, however we look, even though I don't wear any makeup but why not

We were so full but we also realized that we already spent like 3 hours in there but had not gone to the bath hall—which was the main reason why we went there!—don't forget that there's a time limit in Spaland. If I remember it well, it was for 4 hours. If you spent more time in there, you have to pay more.

So we went back to the locker room. I have to be brave, I thought. In the past—or in some remote places in Indonesia—it was kinda usual to take a bath together in the lake or river but this is modern era and taking bath together in Indonesia was... considered uncomfortable. But it wasn't that bad. I think it was only in my mind. Especially when everyone around you were naked too, it wasn't that uncomfortable.

The locker room and bath hall for men and women are separated (obviously). The first thing I do before getting in was washing my self and rub my skin with a rough towel that they provided. It's a little bit hurt but I felt very clean after doing it.

Photo credit: Shinsegae.

The indoor bath pools has different temperature too. There's whirlpool which was fun for a few moment but got pretty annoying when some people trying to get into my favorite spot. The indoor pool for men and women are basically the same. But there's something special with the women's one.

Photo credit: Shinsegae.

This outdoor onsen was only available for women! I have been trying to search if Korea has onsen like Japan but I haven't found one. This is the most similar to onsen that I'll ever get in Busan.

It was even better because it was winter. Super fun. I totally want to go back here just because of this outdoor onsen. I really-really-really LOVE this onsen. One day I will go to Japan and go to the real onsen.

We spent more than an hour inside. In the dressing room, they provided hairdryer and Mamonde body lotions. I believe that we already passed the 4 hours but when we got out, they didn't charge more. Maybe because it was weekdays? I don't know...

Anyway, that's it! That's my first experience in jjimjilbang. Now I won't feel curious again when I watch it in kdramas~ I would say it was a very interesting experience. Four years in Korea and finally I tried it, hahahaha. I know, how lame am I... I definitely gonna come back there just to spend 2 hours of it in the outside onsen (and I hope I wouldn't faint lol).

I wish I didn't go M.I.A. again after this post. I will try to separate my time, not just for work, not just for playing Dragon Age Inquisition, but also for this blog. :*

Stay positive, be creative. See you next time~


Gabriela Tio.

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