By Rushan Ziatdinov
“Jjimjilbang” are bathhouses in Korea that gained recognition within the early twentieth century. By the late Nineteen Nineties, many jjimjilbang had advanced into leisure complexes, and going to a jjimjilbang grew to become part of Korean social life. The jjimjilbang are nonetheless as essential for socializing as they’re for spa expertise.
I first landed within the Land of Morning Calm in the summertime of 2010, and jjimjilbang grew to become one of the crucial pleasurable locations for me to enhance my well being in preparation for the workweek forward. Since 2010, I’ve visited many public bathhouses, largely conventional and some very fashionable ones, in varied Korean cities, and I’ve actually loved every of them.
Since my first go to to a public bathhouse, I additionally started observing completely different bathhouses’ environments. They’ve many issues in frequent, and I wish to concentrate on these to supply some concepts for the event and modernization of conventional Korean public bathhouses.
Entrance and amenities
Upon entry, friends are given a uniform. However typically there are not any bigger sizes, particularly for tall individuals. Additionally, each shirts and pants might have extra comfy pockets for money, cash, a cellphone and a charger. Generally, they offer towels, which I personally discover small. Cannot towels be just a little greater?
Friends additionally put their sneakers in a small field with a lock. The door of a locker generally has a small window, which I feel shouldn’t be needed. As an alternative, these lockers might have a wise system that dries sneakers and will most likely be used for antibacterial cleansing. It is usually doable to implement touchscreen lockers for simple entry and safety. There’s additionally a necessity to put in self-washing shoe machines that guests can use.
Guests then place their garments in bigger packing containers. These packing containers can even have self-cleaning or heating programs. Since there are a lot of clients, this may also help forestall the unfold of viruses, micro organism and unsightly odors. As soon as in Japan, I visited a public bathhouse that had a particular room for laundry and drying machines in order that I might wash my garments. Sadly, I’ve by no means seen washing and drying machines in conventional Korean public bathhouses.
Bathhouse staff typically put on the identical coloured uniforms as different clients, however it might be higher if their uniforms have been completely different and simply distinguishable in order that guests can ask for assist if wanted.
Bathing areas
Sadly, I’ve solely skilled seawater baths in a bathhouse in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, however by no means in different cities, which is unusual for a rustic surrounded by seas. Another choice is to put in an ice bathtub.
At present, baths have a set temperature that can’t be modified. Sooner or later, sensible bathhouse applied sciences equivalent to superior temperature management programs for sauna and bathing areas that permit customers to set their most popular temperatures could be applied. It will even be great to have particular baths designed for kids, with safer surfaces, cleaner water, toys and different child-friendly options.
Some grime is commonly discovered on the floor of the water, which autonomous robotic cleaners may also help do away with. Such robots are already being utilized in swimming swimming pools and can be found on-line. Robotic cleaners may also be used for flooring with quite a lot of foot visitors. There are even cleansing robots for bathrooms today.
Sadly, I’ve by no means seen foot-washing or disinfecting swimming pools or baths right here, which could be helpful in stopping the unfold of fungal infections.
Sauna rooms
New and extra environment friendly sorts of saunas could be launched to supply guests quite a lot of novel experiences. These embrace natural saunas infused with the aroma of medicinal herbs like eucalyptus, lavender or ginseng; infrared saunas that present deep tissue heating at decrease temperatures for muscle ache aid, detoxing and improved circulation; and forest saunas that create a chilled, nature-connected expertise.
Different choices embrace sound remedy saunas for leisure by way of auditory stimulation, vitamin C saunas that use vitamin C-infused steam for skincare and thermal stone saunas that supply constant, soothing warmth for enhanced leisure and detoxing.
Moreover, themed saunas can improve the expertise in distinctive methods. Ocean saunas would possibly characteristic marine themes with blue lighting, wave sounds and mist machines to simulate ocean spray. Futuristic area saunas might provide a space-themed surroundings, whereas Russian saunas would possibly incorporate conventional bathtub brooms. Every of those ideas can present a definite and pleasurable sauna expertise for guests.
Every now and then, sauna rooms could be cleaned with specialised purifiers to get rid of viruses, micro organism and unsightly odors.
Frequent rooms and sleeping quarters
Extra trendy designs for mattresses and pillows, equivalent to bamboo mattresses, particular pillows fabricated from stones or wood cubes and extra objects fabricated from pure wooden, would additionally assist modernize Korean bathhouses.
Gender-separate sleeping quarters are sometimes darkish, so putting in evening lights and extra USB ports for cellphone chargers could be good.
As well as, having a small library contained in the bathhouse would give individuals area to learn books or manga quietly with out disturbing others.
I’ve heard a lot constructive suggestions about how great Korean bathhouses are. Just one professor advised me prior to now that Chinese language bathhouses are even higher and may occupy bigger areas than these in Korea. In my childhood, I visited great sanatoriums within the Soviet Union, that are just like a spa, however with medical companies, together with peloid remedy, which I by no means noticed in Korea.
There’s additionally a necessity for all public bathhouses to design and use a brand new emblem or image that’s completely different from the standard Japanese image for decent springs, which is able to assist individuals simply establish public bathhouses.
We generally simply must open our eyes and go searching us to search out methods to enhance what’s already there. I imagine conventional Korean bathhouses can change into higher within the close to future and assist promote Korean tradition worldwide.
Rushan Ziatdinov (www.ziatdinov-lab.com) is a professor of commercial engineering at Keimyung College/