The Great Big Wonder

It’s been about 3 months since I‘ve returned from Korea, which seems like a lifetime regarding the relevance of postings, however, I feel compelled to write about Korea again mostly because I‘m going through major withdrawals.

Korean culture is so different than North American culture. What is important to those that I met in Korea is not at all what many North Americans consider important. During the months that I was in Korea in 2015 and 2016, I was introduced to so many new ideas, things, flavors, and lifestyles. While the trip was absolutely magical, there are two things that I want to focus on for this particular post.

Jjimjilbangs (gym-jil-bahng):

The first thing I want to rave about is Jjimjilbangs. Jjimjilbangs are Korean bath/sauna houses and are not for the faint of heart. For around 6,000 – 8,000 won, or six to eight U.S. dollars you are granted access to hot tubs, saunas, showers, ice-rooms, a cafe, and a large coed sleeping area for the night. Basically, it’s a really cheap way to stay somewhere nice with amenities.

Now I mention the coed sleeping area because to get access to the showers and hot tubs, it’s required that you be as naked as the day you were born (no bathing suits allowed), which means that those areas are separated by genders. When you check into the Jimjilbang you are given a uniform usually color-coded by gender, two small hand towels, and a key to a locker. You leave your shoes in small shoe lockers in the lobby, say goodbye to your opposite-gendered friends and head to the (Mok-yolk-) or the sauna and spa section.

Once inside you are immediately greeted by naked bodies, of all shapes, sizes, colors, and ages. To be fair, I was not 100 percent thrilled to be stripping down to my birthday suit with some strange older Korean women and my team whom I just met a few hours ago in an airport. But it happened. You strip down to nothing, grab your shower supplies, and hope that you don’t look as embarrassed as you feel.

Its true what they say, when everyone’s naked… you become less embarrassed, in fact, I found it very comforting and relaxing. All the women in the building were in the same state of undress as I was, and to be honest, it wasn’t like anyone was looking at me judging me, everyone was too concerned with relaxing in steaming water to care about my body and me. I was the only one putting pressure on myself to ‘look’ a specific way. The only reason they were looking was that I am obviously not Korean, and in small towns, a white girl in a bathhouse is not a common sight.

Like I mentioned You are required to shower before entering the pools. You can use your own shower stuff or buy some at the place, that is completely up to you. After showering you can prance around in your newly washed birthday suit and pick a pool to bathe in, they range in temperature which is indicated with a sign above the pools. Some are absolute infernos; others are freezing cold as if you legitimately just stepped into an ice bath. Most of them have jets or places to lay out or sit and enjoy your preferred temperature.

You can also choose to have your skin scrubbed off your body for about 10,000 won or 10 U.S. dollars. This was not an option I indulged in while in Korea as I have skin as sensitive as a wee babe, however many people recommend it. You lay out on a table and a woman dressed in her bra and underwear lathers you up and scrubs your whole body raw. Seeing as I don’t have the right parts for the male side I’m not sure what this portion looks like for guys, I assume the men that do the scrubbing wear speedos or boxers. When finished, you come out pink and raw and are sent to the showers to wash off. To be honest the idea of this horrified me. I like my skin on my body, thank you.

Once satisfied with your soak in the tub you can rinse off again, if you so choose, dry off and put on the required uniform. No, you cannot wear your own pajamas; you must wear the uniform. Yes, they do judge your clothing size by looking at you and then guessing what will fit, so I must say good luck.

Once you’re wearing your new fashionable (Read: hideous) uniforms you can head up to the co-ed section of the. It’s here when you can reunite with friends, grab something to eat, find a sauna or ice-room to enjoy, or hit the hay.

One thing you must do is get a hard-boiled or baked egg. We were taught to crack it on your head, which seems wild, but it’s fun. You grab the hard-boiled egg and smash it against your skull and hopefully if you have a hard head like me the shell will crack and then you peel away and eat it. Sometimes the eggs are made in the hottest saunas if that gives you an idea of the temperature ranges. Another snack to grab is Iced Sikhye, which is a sweet rice drink. It’s not my personal favorite based on texture alone but its worth a try!

In Jjimjilbangs you sleep on the floor, on thin plastic mats that they provide for you along with a brick like a pillow. During the summer your skin sticks to the mat since its hot and sticky everywhere in Korea. The pillows are horribly uncomfortable, so I always brought my plane pillow with me so I could sleep. However, it’s an experience like no other. And something I wish we had Stateside. Here is a video to one of my favorite Korean (Canadian) YouTubers on Jjimjilbangs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb-QJGq0cd0

Food:

It’s not a blog post if I don’t talk about food. When I visited Korea in 2014, I ate cafeteria food daily, not the best impression, although students in Korea eat much better than we do. However, while in Korea during 2015 and 2016 I ate at restaurants and in people’s homes, and that made all the difference in the world.

I crave home-cooked Korean food constantly. I dream about it and read about it, and I can’t wait for the day when I get real authentic Korean food again. The flavors are wonderful, bold, spicy, and fresh. Every time we sat down for a meal we had some sort of fresh produce placed in front of us, steaming rice, a meat product, and usually something covered in chili.

Having never been a huge fan of spicy food at the beginning of the trip I was tentative when reaching for something at the table that was even slightly red. By the end of the trip, I was grabbing for red-coated items just like my spicy loving friends.

Breakfast was something completely new to me. Accustomed to my bowl of cereal and toast in the mornings, I was surprised to find that in Korea breakfast is often the same food that you would have for lunch or dinner. Now, I did have toast and pastries a few times, yet for the most part, I had meats, sandwiches, soup and the likes. And it was GOOD. My favorite is a ‘breakfast sandwich‘, or egg toast as its sometimes called, made up of a fried egg, sandwich ham, grape/strawberry jelly, cabbage, tomato, cheese in between two fresh slices of toast. I know this sounds like a not so great combination, but it is heavenly. I’ve had different variations, but they are all good.

I could list off my favorite Korean dishes (some of them are fusions or from Japan) for days, and this list includes: Donkatsu deep-fried pork cutlet on a bed of steamed rice and slathered with gravy, Bibimpab rice topped with fresh veggies, a fried egg and occasionally meats served in a hot stone bowl, Samgyeopsal fatty slices of meat you grill at your table wrap in lettuce/ leaves and dip in sesame oil, and  Chimeak Korean fried chicken and beer (though I usually skip the beer).

My overall favorite though is jjimdak or dakjjim. Its steamed chicken braised in this delicious sauce (usually spicy) served with potatoes, carrots, starch noodles (aka the best thing ever), onion, mushrooms, and then chili and peppers if you do get the spicy version. I had this both homemade by one of my homestays and in Andong where it was originated. Both times were so delicious, it’s one thing I genuinely want to attempt to make at home.

Dessert, the most important meal of the day. We often had fruit for our after-dinner snacks. We dug into plates of watermelon, peaches, and other with tiny forks while the Korean news or chatting with host families. But the biggest and my minor obsession is bingso. Patbingso, the traditional treat,  consists of finely shaved ice or milk made to look like snow topped with red bean porridge. My recommendation would be chocobingsu, the ice is covered in chocolate, brownies, chocolate chips, ice cream, and sweetened condensed milk. It’s dreamy. The fruit options are also delicious if you want to make a ‘healthy’ decision.

Bingsu. The God of dessert foods. Chocobingsu with cheesecake bites whipped cream, chocolate bits and sauce.

Most of the magic that surrounds Korean food, is how it’s eaten. Usually, you share it, especially food like a huge boiling pot of stew, KBBQ, Korean Pizza (yes it’s different), Chimek, Shabu Shabu, and more. Massive portions are placed before you and you and your comrades go ham with your chopsticks bringing what you want to your smaller plate.

More often than not, even in restaurants, you’re seated on the floor. You leave your shoes at the door in cubbies and then sit around the table. Your knees touch your neighbors, and you serve each other drinks and enjoy the others company. You use chopsticks, for everything but soup, yes forks are an option. Chopsticks make eating a slower process, and more enjoyable instead of shoveling food into your mouth you take your time and think about what you eat. You converse, actually taste your food and carefully consume what you are eating. It brings back the true meaning of why we eat and how food is culture.

In Korea the family eats together, all seated around the table. It stems conversation as you savor the delicious fresh ingredients, bright flavors, and perfectly balanced plates.