Spa Design History: Korean Spa Culture - Essay Example

1. Introduction The Korean culture has much to offer compared to the rest of the world. Overall the Korean culture is a rich collection of various influences some of which are indigenous while others are purely foreign. One of the most striking features of the Korean culture is perhaps the concept of the public bath houses which is entirely different from anything else in the rest of the world. Although public bath houses were a common feature of a number of early civilizations such as the Babylonians, the Greek and Romans etc. but none treated bathing as an essential element of their social existence and personal hygiene. The Korean bathing culture has developed alongside other cultural devices in the Korean culture given its importance in cultural terms. Initially the Korean bath culture grew all alone in isolation but with the commencement of the Japanese influence on Korean culture, the bath culture went underground. There are marked differences between the Korean bath culture and the Japanese bath culture, but even during the enforcement of Japanese culture and customs, the Korean bath culture retained its original values and escaped contamination. Over time the Korean bath culture has evolved into a unique system of rituals and devices that remained rather isolated and uncontaminated until the age of globalization. The onslaught of globalization has changed the Korean spa culture like nothing else has changed it in the last centuries. This text will observe the evolution, characteristics and other assortments of the Korean spa culture in detail to see how it has evolved to become what it is today. 2. Clarifying Bathing Terminologies A number of different kinds of bathing arrangement have been made available over the centuries. The recently sparked interest in other cultures has made the lines between various kinds of cultural terminologies rather liquid and often confusing. When applied to the domain of bathing and related functions, there is an abundance of various terms that need to be clarified before an evolution of bathing styles unique to the Korean experience can be explored any further. A sauna is generally a small room that has been created in order to experience both dry and wet heat sessions. The term loosely also refers to a collection of different saunas in one place as well including other auxiliary facilities too. A typical sauna session can be a personal affair as well as a social gather up depending on the premises in question. The participants often disrobe and sit in these small rooms while temperatures vary between 70oC and 100oC in an effort to induce perspiration and to cause the participant to relax. Saunas can be classified into two major categories based on the method of heat supply. The conventional saunas tend to heat the air inside while modern saunas tend to warm objects inside the sauna by using infra red radiation. On the other hand the term spa refers to establishments that seek to offer cures using water treatment better known as balneotherapy. In the modern realm it has become common to offer various kinds of treatments in such facilities like spa towns and spa resorts all over the world. The tradition of using spas to cause healing is ancient and has been popular throughout the world with major influence being European and Japanese1. In the modern realm the word spa encompasses establishments that house a number of saunas as well as other auxiliary facilities such as healing chambers, massage areas, sleeping areas, personal relaxation zones, social interaction zones, food courts and the like2. When the Korean spa tradition is looked into it becomes clear that the Koreans consider saunas as essentially public bath houses. A variety of different names are applied to public bath houses in Korea depending on their scope and function. The Korean spa tradition contains the small mogyoktang, the outdoor oncheons as well as the larger and more elaborate jiimjilbangs. These intricate and connected terms are dealt with in detail below to clarify how these Korean spas are similar and different at the same time. 3. Evolving Bath Houses in Korea Historically it was not possible for all people in a society to create bathing facilities within their living areas because of the inherent complexities involved. It was not until much later (around the latter half of the nineteenth century) that public utilities such as flowing water and sewage drains allowed the creation of wash rooms and bathing areas within homes. Even then the created bath rooms were few and far in between. Given this situation it was essential for various cultures to provide communal bathing solutions that were managed by the community and society at large. Wherever there were flowing rivers, they were exploited for use as bathing areas such as in the Indo Aryan culture that grew up in the plains around the Ganges and the Brahmaputra and Indus rivers. However in regions such as Korea where the population found themselves geographically trapped by mountains it was not possible to access rivers for bathing. This situation was much similar to that found in the Greek city states where mountains bounded human settlement. These civilizations found a common solution by introducing common public bath houses for women and men that could be used by anyone. The later Roman civilization also followed the same model of bath house development and use. 3.1. Ancient Traditions When these bath houses from different civilization are put together and compared, it becomes apparent that the Korean bath house tradition is one of the oldest in the entire world. Though it is known that the Koreans enjoyed bathing from ancient times but the first traceable records of bath houses date back to the Silla kingdom (57 B.C. to 935 A.D.). It is also reported that the founder of the Silla dynasty, Park Hyeokgeose and his wife were avid bathers and their interest in bathing helped to establish a strong ancient bathing tradition in Korea3. It has also been reported that in addition to public bath houses the homes of the Silla nobility were provided with private bath houses as well. The nobility used a number of different soaps and other assortments in addition to regular water bathing so as to provide a healing and beautification effect. This tradition of bathing was kept communal with the introduction of bath houses to the Buddhist temples. The Buddhist tradition considered consistent bathing to be a source of cleansing the mind and the soul so bathing was a highly preferred activity especially when taken on sacred temple bath houses. 3.2. Medieval Traditions and their Ramifications The tradition of bathing continued unabated during the subsequent Goryeo Dynasty (918 A.D. to 1392 A.D.) and grew a little more as well. Again a number of different assortments such as peach flowered water or boiled orchid water were used in tandem with water to perform baths. The incoming Joseon Dynasty (1392 A.D. to 1910 A.D.) restricted existing bathing practices in Korea because of Confucianism’s restrictive ideas and practices. The temple bath house structures were removed from the culture and Buddhism was suppressed along with it4. While this era can be perceived as a dark age for the Korean spa tradition but it cannot be denied that an underground bathing culture still existed and thrived. In fact the evolution of the modern form of the Korean spa sauna can be attributed to the fifteenth century. The Korean saunas in use in the modern day are shaped like kilns which is far more unique when compared to any other sauna tradition around the world. These structures are known simply as Han Jeung Mak and traditionally these cave type structures were provided with a small opening and were heated by burning wood extracted from pine trees. It is recognized that heating the saunas was done traditionally before this point in time as well but the specific shapes of the Korean saunas are highly unique. Some schools of thought believe that people would crawl into pottery kilns in order to benefit from the warmth available so the Korean sauna tradition evolved in a similar manner and the Korean saunas are shaped like kilns. Alost all modern Korean saunas are shaped like kilns although they are often housed inside large halls in the spa buildings5. 3.3. Modern Traditions After the Japanese takeover of Korea the bath houses were reopened again by the Japanese colonizers. There is some discrepancy to the exact year when such public bath houses were opened up again and some traditions have reported 19206 while others have reported the reopening of bath houses in 19257 8. However it is generally agreed that the modern tradition of public bath houses was initiated by the Japanese within the period between 1920 and 1925. The creation of the modern bath houses was a necessity as people were forced to bath in streams and rivers so in order to promote healthier bathing the bath house tradition was rejuvenated. Another issue worthy of note in the Korean spa and bathing tradition must be noted here. Although the Korean spa tradition remained under the influence of the Japanese culture in its infant years in the modern realm but the Korean spa tradition eventually stuck to its own values and customs when the Japanese left Korea. The Japanese left the Korean peninsula before the end of the Second World War while the Korean War effectively sealed the North Koreans off from the south along the 38th parallel. A new and developing Korea was now faced with massive development on all fronts including culture that had been suppressed by the Japanese in a bid to assimilate the Koreans into mainstream Japanese culture. Therefore it can be safely said that the Korean spa tradition flourished in nascent modern Korea because it had impetus from the Japanese Korean tradition and space for growth in the evolving modern Korean culture. As mentioned before the Korean spa tradition was able to maintain its distinctive identity over time when compared to the parent Japanese spa tradition. For one thing the Japanese spa tradition is hardly as complicated as the Korean spa tradition that encompasses a variety of articulate flavors and styles. The saunas available in a typical Korean spa are of a large variety and correspond to both heated and cooled chambers adorned with different materials in order to reap different effects for different parts of the human body. Another major distinction between conventional Korean spas and traditional Japanese spas is the attire allowed to participants when inside the spa. The Korean spa tradition allows both males and females to strip off completely and use the spa services at the very same time. On the other hand the Japanese spa tradition emphasizes on enough attire to cover the body and to segregate the male and female participants into different chambers. As more and more Korean spas are modernizing they are also adopting a more coed approach to the participants as a large amount of participants are not indigenous Koreans anymore. The inclusion of foreign customers to the Korean spa tradition means that sweeping changes have been brought around in the traditional spa culture in Korea. Different chambers have now been created in most Korean spas for males and females especially in Korean spas that are located outside Korea. These spas are mostly located in the Los Angeles area in the United States in Korea town. In order to cater for foreign clients the male and female chambers are now separated for almost all Korean spas. However the Korean spas located inside and outside Korea still have the condition on nudity for participants. The Korean spa tradition holds that a complete removal of attire is required in order to reap the benefits of the water treatment fully. Although a majority of foreign participants find the condition of stark nakedness required in Korean spas a little over the top initially but almost all of these participants settle down once they realize that everyone inside is nude and that nudity is not a big issue in these spas9 10 11. Another rather distinct feature of the Korean spas is their use of the Italian towels that are used to scrub the skin in order to cleanse it. The use of the Italian towels is in line with the more traditional custom of the ttaemiri scrub culture where the participant uses an abrasive fabric in order to cleanse their skin. With developments in fabric technology in the sixties and the seventies the ttaemiri scrubbing culture adopted the use of Italian towels that were preferred because of their abrasive properties. Japanese tourists and other fans of the spa traditions around the world prefer to import their Italian towels directly from Korea given their high quality and standard. This scrubbing culture exists in other spa traditions as well but nowhere is it as stringent as in the Korean tradition. The Korean spa tradition advocates the abrasion of the skin till it turns pink indicating a satisfactory degree of cleansing. Other scrubbing cultures rely on using mildly abrasive devices such as apricot scrub in order to cleanse the participant but the Korean tradition is altogether different. The abrasion of skin till it turns pink is not usually recommended by dermatologists as the participant tends to scrape off skin tissue along with impurities but it is still practiced in Korean spas around the world12. 4. Types of Korean Spas 4.1. Jjimilbang The jjimilbangs are gender separated public bath houses found around Korea that have come to include hot tubs, Finnish style saunas, Korean saunas, showers, massage tables and other such amenities. The word jjimjil literally means a heated bath in the Korean language. These Korean spas are often multi storied and the upper floors are unisex areas where there are a host of amenities such as snack bars, sleeping areas, televisions, exercise areas, heated salt rooms, ice rooms, PC bangs (online video gaming areas), noraebangs (karaoke bars and singing rooms) as well as ondol heated floors for sitting down and sleeping. The sleeping areas are often furnished minimally with either bunk beds or sleeping mats and are laid out in respective themes to suit the mood of the participants. The sleeping areas in the Korean spas are distinct given that there are a number of sleeping rooms with different temperatures. The participants can choose which sleeping room to choose based on their preference for a particular temperature. The inlays of the walls in the sleeping areas are often created using various kinds of woods so that the smell of the ambience is more organic and thus more natural. Typically jjimjilbangs are open twenty four hours a day and are used by Korean families as a typical get away for the weekend. These spas are all the more popular with women in Korea especially pregnant females. The traditional concept of pregnancy in Korea necessitates the females to take care of themselves in a room made out of red clay for some three weeks before they give birth13. The jjimjilbangs are more often used by tourists both from inside and outside Korea and it is considered normal if the tourist lodges in for the night in the jjimjilbang’s sleeping areas. 4.2. Mogyoktang In contrast to the jjimjilbangs the mogyoktangs are simpler bath houses and spas that do not contain as many amenities. These public bath houses are often created with lockers, Jacuzzis, massage areas, showers, steam rooms and barber shops. The more elaborate amenities available at jjimjilbangs such as snack bars, PC bands, noraebangs and sleeping areas are absent in the mogyoktangs. Moreover these spas are not available for service twenty four hours a day and the respective sections inside the spa are divided along gender based lines. The mogyoktang spa tradition is more of an indigenous offering that is availed by people living inside Korea who visit public bath houses regularly. 4.3. International Korean Spas A number of Korean spas have evolved outside Korea most notably in the United States. These spas offer services similar in basic traditions to Korean spas but these spas have also diversified their offerings in order to compete with other spa traditions. Modified kinds of saunas are a common addition to traditional Korean spas as are gender segregation and the use of some attire when inside the spa. This evolution of the Korean spa tradition is taking place in isolation from the main Korean spa tradition that is being practiced in South Korea. 5. Conclusion The Korean spa tradition dates back to antiquity and has seen ages of prosperity and suppression. Throughout its history the Korean spa tradition has been evolving from one form to the next but it has clung strongly to its traditional values and customs. 6. Bibliography Ampontan. Japanese view of Korean baths. 2007 March 2007. http://ampontan.wordpress.com/2007/03/11/japanese-view-of-korean-baths/ (accessed December 4, 2011). Buchman, Dian Dincin. The complete book of water healing. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional, 2001. Crebbin-Bailey, Jane, John W. Harcup, and John Harrington. The Spa Book: The Official Guide to Spa Therapy. Colorado: Cengage Learning EMEA, 2005. Eversz, Laura. Visit to Century Spa just what the doctor ordered. 1 February 2004. http://www.larchmontchronicle.com/ArchiveDetail.asp?ArchiveID=381 (accessed December 4, 2011). Geun-hwa, Ji. Korean Bath Culture. 2003. vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.libproxy.newschool.edu/hww... (accessed December 4, 2011). Home Saunas for Health and Beauty. 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