COAL KILN SAUNA STORY

A brief entry on an amazing coal kiln sauna experience. (I only have a few sauna photo since we were often without clothing and also it was very hot)

Entrance to Sauna.. 

My host, knowing that I liked saunas as well as learning about traditional folk practices shared a Korean sauna of wood fired coals with me (plus two other dance faculty friend she knew).  Having checked with google, the tradition of this type of sauna originated in the days when coal for heating was made by burning wood in kilns. In the evening, people would come sit and sweat in those cooling kilns, appreciating the process of sweating as well as the healing properties of the coal as a cleansing ritual at the end of the day. Today, it apparently is growing in popularity in Korea. This was validated by my observation today, where men and women, young and old spent several hours in the multi step cleansing and healing process. 

Me with my hair covered from the heat (outside resting spot) 

Entering the building set on a small street nestled in one of the many wooded mountains within Seoul City limits, we put our shoes in one locker, donned slippers and were given orange colored cotton pants and a tee shirt plus 3 small towels. (the men got the same thing only their got yellow clothing). Stashing our clothing in a second locker we began: 

One of the final fire resting places

Stage 1: First step was what I think of a ‘Japanese style’ soaking process. This meant showering and washing my hair before entering a bubbling pool of hot water (about 86 degrees F) – think of a giant whirlpool with nude bodies (I was in the women’s section I assume the men had a similar set up.)  We hung out there for a while until ….

Stage 2: I was directed to lay down on a table with a bright pink plastic cover and was then examined for skin scrubbing by the semi-nude attendant. In direct Korean style, she pointed out that my skin had lots of layers of dead cells (translated to me since she only spoke Korean). I nodded, since the only other two times in my life that I have had my skin scrubbed was last year in Seoul and once in Morocco. She then proceeded to scrub and scrape my body with a very rough-sandpaper like- washcloth, occasionally saying ‘left’, ‘right’, ‘face’, ‘back’ to let me know what position she needed me it. It was simultaneously nurturing and a bit uncomfortable, and made me wonder if this is what kittens feel when they are being cleaned by their mother cat. Finished I was sloshed by several buckets of water and then motioned that this step was finished. 

Fire resting with friends

More dancing in nature- 

Stage 3: Next, we dressed and ascended 2 floors to the ‘coal sauna room’. This was a large room, with various sauna rooms, of various intensity of heat. We started with the coolest and moved up to the medium temperature room (where we were told to wear socks and bring towels to sit on and cover our hair, since medium was definitely hot. I also tried the two hotter rooms. One was hot but tolerable while the hottest room, was so hot we had to change into wooden clogs, to walk inside (our socks or plastic shoes would have melted fairly quickly). In addition to the hot rooms, there were cooler resting rooms where people were sitting or lying down and resting. (Several folks were also talking on their cell phones .. a common sight in Seoul). Another room actually had a wood coal fire going in a pit, surrounded by logs for sitting.  There was also an outside space surrounded by towering trees and low table-like platforms for resting as well. In between going in and out of these various rooms, eating and resting and conversations occurred. There were also several coal cooking grills, where long thin sweet potatoes and rounder regular potatoes were cooking in foil. Sitting we talked, drank various liquids (including a vinegar and persimmon juice drink, something else made from cinnamon and ginger and a sweet fermented rice drink made from barley malt). And share food, which gave us sustenance for our next sauna sitting which sometimes meant a hot sweating sauna and sometimes a cool down sauna. This went on for several hours until we decided it was time to leave. 

Hot Sweaty Happy Barbara

Stage 4: On the way out we also took some time to sit in a cool room which looked a bit like a refrigerator with coils covered with ice. 

Stage 5: (I suspect this was a special add on, since I was a visitor) we all sat in massage chairs, and got a 20 minute mechanical massage. A newer and good but strange experience. 

Stage 6: From there, a shower (sitting on low Japanese style seats in front of a spray faucet) and putting on our clothing, getting our shoes and leaving. 

All in all, it was a wonderful 4.5 hour afternoon with some beautiful and amazing women and many memories. My entire body feels like silk and I am energized and relaxed at the same time.