Naked Sam I Am

On my journey to becoming Korean, I decided the only way I could really do it is to be naked with my Korean female counterparts. Really put it all out there in the most basic form. I had heard about the bathhouses here and they intrigued me. I wanted to visit a Russian bathhouse in Brooklyn, but never got around to it. There was a Japanese bathhouse not too far from my cousin, Chris, in San Francisco that I also did not get the chance to visit. Part of the reason though, was because I didn't know the proto-call. I wanted someone to go with me who had previously been there to show me the ropes. I don't mind being creepy with my clothes on. Without your clothes, it's a whole different ball game. What if I did something that was considered rude and improper? I admit it! I didn't go in the states because I was scared!

But now I found someone that had been there and was willing to take me, John Mensing. He was originally from the Midwest and started a huge squatters movement in Williamsburg, Brooklyn before it became hipster central. He was also ran for council representing Williamsburg and Fort Greene. Pretty cool stuff. I went to visit his house (this is the soup I made at his place after we went shopping. The kimchi was a gift from his friend) and have him show me around Samcheonpo. Below is part of my ride on the bus. It took me about 45 minutes from Jinju to get to Samcheonpo.


To the good stuff...
The place we went to was beautiful. It was right on the coast where I could see Namhae, which is part of a small island chain. Time had passed so quickly. By the time we arrived it was already midnight. I walked in and took off my shoes and put them in locker, 333. I didn't see any naked people at this point. I admit I was a little disappointed, but again, this was also just the check-in counter.
I took the clothes they gave me. If you look in the picture you will see people in orange and red. I was wearing the red outfit. No, it is not like a prison jumpsuit, it's more comfortable and stylish. I was told that the saunas and baths close at midnight. Since I arrived so late, I would have to wait until morning to see naked people. I was a little disheartened as you can imagine. But I went to the 3rd floor to change into my "spa clothes". I met John down in the main Zzimzilbang, which is the common room where men, women, and children sleep on the floor in one big room. Sound crazy? It was. There were also about 8 upside U-shaped domes in the wall where people could sleep. It looked like a mini catacomb.

They also had saunas on the Zzimzilbang floor. I took a book in one of them and read for a bit. It was hot and I was sweaty, but it was so relaxing just lying on the warm stone floor. There was a tiny pillow the size of a brick that I rested my head on. The ceiling and walls were made of stone. Breathing was truly a pleasure. Anyone can enter these rooms, but I think because John and I looked so foreign, people would peer in through the window and then decide to go to a different sauna. There were four saunas that anyone could go into, but everyone had to have their clothes on on this floor. You could even sleep in the sauna if you could stand the heat.

Drifting in and out of sleep at 1am I went to take a walk outside. My body welcomed the cool night air on my skin happily. The view was spectacular and to top it off, no lie, someone was playing the flute in that little cabana in the picture. I took my ponytail out and felt like Mulan. I just needed a sword to cut off my hair and join the army to save my father from having to fight the Huns. I didn't have one, but I did have a sweet potato and a knife to peel a persimmon. I had to settle with that. The persimmon became my hair and I peeled off the skin in one fell swoop. I split it with John and continued to take in the view. The moonlight was shimmering on the water. The guy with the flute was on his break and just as I bit into my sweet potato (of course I had to bring lots of food on this little excursion) he started again. The explosion of flavour and sound made the moment unforgettable.

I counted the number of bodies lying in the Zzimzilbang, 52. There were women and children and babies, fathers and couples and singles. It was a beautiful thing to see. They were all sleeping on a brick-sized and shaped pillow with a thin (and I mean 1/4 of an inch thin) mat underneath their bodies. The room was warm, so there was no need for a blanket, although some did wrap one around themselves I think out of habit. The same way some people sleep with a sheet even when it's sweltering outside. I used to do it because I was afraid monsters would attack me if I didn't have that protective covering. My body had a really hard time adapting to this sleeping style, but eventually I feel into a sleep looking forward to bathing naked with Koreans.

My goal was realized at 9:07am. I took off all my clothes and stepped past the point of no return. I was in the bathing room. Naked people were everywhere! To the left, to the right, on the ceiling, on the floor. There were older women, babies and mothers and teens. It was so nice to see all walks of life. The mothers with their babies were especially beautiful to me. There was no pointing or snickering or bashfulness. It was just beautiful. I even was able to go outside naked and sit in a bath that was facing the water. Here I was, the naked Sam I Am.

There was a cold bath when I first walked in (20 C). Then the sauna that was (77 C). Just a tip, never ever, ever jump in a cold bath and then go into a wood sauna that is 77 degrees Celsius (that's 170.6 degrees Fahrenheit)! I could not breathe. The air was being forced out of my body and with each inhale I felt a warm, burning sensation in my throat. I exited in a hurry after 15 seconds. There were 5 other baths, each with varying temperatures. My favorite was the salt water bath at 44 degrees Celsius or 111.2 F. There was a wormwood bath opposite of the salt water bath and next to it was a heated bath with jets. The window were fogged, but I saw that if you just splash a bit of water on them, they clear up and you can see the island chain and the beach below. Literally breathtaking. After getting out of that salt water bath, I almost fell down because I was so dizzy. I hobbled over to an area of warm stone you can lie on. Ooohh did that feel nice. I saw a few girls staring at me and when we caught eyes they jumped into the bath next to me. The mothers weren't scared to let their kids run around. There was none of this hide your child from other's eyes. I just can't see this working in the States. It's too crazy of a concept for people to wrap their minds around. Although the comical thing is even though there are no stones left unturned in this room full of women, outside of the walls, men and women alike do not show any type of cleavage or their shoulders. It is an interesting change of scene.

After an hour of splashing, watching, relaxing, breathing, and walking my fear and insecurities I had about my body went out the window, if I may speak figuratively. It was the first time I really felt comfortable in my own skin. But I do have to say...naked, naked, naked, naked, naked, naked, naked. haha!