A jimjilbang is a public bathhouse. it is very popular in korea, from what I hear. It is for both sexes, though the bathing areas themselves are separated. So basically you enter, pay, go find yourself a locker, and change into the outfit they give you. nothing fancy; just shorts and a shirt. Now you can go to the communal area where both girls and guys are, and you can socialize, buy food, go into a sauna, etc. back in the mens' locker room, there is another way towards the baths themselves. before entering, you will go to your locker and strip off your given outfit. you can either store them in your locker or drop them off in a designated basket for dirty clothes. Within the bathing area, there are different pools of varying temperatures. There are also showers and more saunas. I didn't have time to explore the whole thing so I'm sure there is more I don't know about.
So from Jochiwon (where orientation is held), we took a train to Seoul. It was about an hour and a half to get there, but we just went to the food cart/cabin/whatever-it-is-called (where there was a lot of empty space) and sat down. There were a couple arcade games and even several noraebangs (karaoke rooms) on the train, so that was an interesting sight to see.
In Seoul, we immediately went to go eat. I had pork blood stew. It was alright. not bad, but not something I would order on a regular basis. here is a picture of it:
After that we went to a Hondae, which is the college area of Seoul (also fairly inexpensive) and walked around for a bit. in the course of the night we went to a bar, a noraebang that surprisingly fit all 30 of us, a nightclub that wasn't full until we came, and then out to eat again. by this time we were splitting off into various groups, so dinner was only about 15 people, which is a lot easier to get a table for. Finally we headed to the jimjilbang. It was late, and had been a long day, so I promptly passed out.
In the morning, we woke up and got washed up, though I felt rushed and thus did not get the full relaxing experience of the bathhouse. a bunch of people decided to go back to Jochiwon sunday morning, and others met family, so the group that I walked around with on Sunday was only about 12 people. We walked around Hondae for a bit, then took the Metro (Subway/tube) to Itaewon to shop. Itaewon is supposedly the place for foreigners, because they sell larger sizes that you can't find anywhere else in Seoul. People in Korea tend to be on the shorter side and thin, much like myself, so I don't think I will have trouble finding clothes. but yeah, we did that and then, since I don't think anyone slept enough, we went back to the train station and came home.
It was a good weekend. I was a little disappointed with the club we went to, just because it seemed the same as an american club, and I had heard previously that Korean clubs were awesome. but a good weekend. I wouldn't take it back :)
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