Korean-style sauna-spas, or jjimjilbang, are apparently getting a following in the United States. Check out the feature on Korean saunas in the Fashion and Style section of the New York Times, although if you live in Korea, I doubt you’d find any of it particularly new.
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20 Comments
$35?!?!?!? Sweet Jesus!
I’m surprised (yeah, right!) that the NYT hasn’t also written up the joys of Korean room salons, which are abundant on 32nd Street and in certain areas of Queens, or the even more numerous Korean rub & tug parlors and crack and crack dens in Manhattan and Queens - but I guess the latter are more the province of the back pages of the Village Voice and Al Goldstein’s Screw.
Poor Al Goldstein. I heard that the internet killed his magazine and he was living in a homeless shelter for a while. Eventually he found work as the door greeter as a bakery and finally worked his way up to being in charge of their catering business.
I heard him on a radio show talking trash about all the Hollywood stars he had looked after in the past only to have them turn their backs on him when he lost all his money. He had some real choice words for Gilbert Gottfried.
As for the NYT writing about Korean saunas and not Korean hookers, well, sometimes papers run hard news and sometimes they run soft news. I can imagine the editors pointing to this story the next time the Korean-American community reps call to complain about unfair treatment. (Why do you make us out to look like a bunch of criminals? We’re all good Christians and hard workers!)
I meant to write that he was working as the door greeter at a bakery, not as a bakery.
Sounds like ole Al got the Heidi Fleiss treatment fromthe Hollywood set - although I hear she’s now a member in good standing of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce
Yeah I guess coverage of the R&T and C&C dens would qualify as “hard” news; well, maybe not at the C&C’s. They both certainly made up a very significant percentage of the NYPD Midtown precinct blotter pre-Giuliani when the “Dinkus” was still Mayor and, while less out in the open nowadays, I understand from my friends still in the Manhattan DA’s office. that business is still booming.
it’s worth it if no one’s spitting on the floor.
Harimgak, the jjimjilbang near where I live, is only about 5,000 won for 24 hours and I’ve never seen anyone spitting there, even in the adjossi only sections
Jesus Christ,
“I’m surprised (yeah, right!) that the NYT hasn’t also written up the joys of Korean room salons, which are abundant..”
I haven’t read any expose on the issue on the WSJ. I guess their Op-Editors have been replaced by tree hugging PETA freaks.
Sperwer, in case you had your head stuck up some dark space for a long time, the existence of brothels in Korean community is very very old news. (Please note emphasis on the term, “news.”) The surging popularity of Jjimjilbang around the metropolitan area is a NEW development.
King’s Sauna is pretty similar to jjimjilbang’s in Korea, except that it is cleaner. And, $35 doesn’t seem all that bad compared to other entertainment options in NYC/NJ area.
VW, I guess it’s you who’s had his snout buried in a trough of shit since jjimjilbang’s on 32nd street and in Queens and in Ft. Lee have been around forever, too.
Hey, goofs, I don’t suppose you’ve heard of the difference between “news” and “features” reporting. Newspapers try to mix it up from time to time so it’s not all crime and scandal — that’s why we get articles on literature and travel, and human-interest stories as well. Human trafficking and prostitution generally fall under “news”, so the features reporter wouldn’t ordinarily be expected to focus on that.
@ Carr,
I think you should have started your post with, “Hey, goofs, (but not jd because he already pointed out in an earlier post what I’m about to)…
Also, the difference between news and features is not what you’re suggesting. the real difference is length and time. Features tend to be longer while news articles tends to be shorter. Also, news is printed right away (because it is related to a specific event), while features can be printed within a given time period (because they are related to a general trend).
Usually, editors will hold onto a feature until a good news item comes along that they can use as a “peg.” So you’ll see a news article about a group of drunk teenagers getting killed in a car accident and on the next page you’ll see a feature on, let’s say, MADD.
I think you want to point out the difference between hard and soft news.
I doubt newspapers want to mix it up and therefore include stories about travel. The travel section, as well as the auto section, are traditionally the big money makers. It’s not about “mixing it up.”
Well, I never thought the Kohos belonged in the Metropolitan Section either; Lifestyle or “Arts and Leisure” always seemed more in order.
‘I HATE KOREANS! I HATE THEM! I HATE THEM! I HATE THEM*!’ SPERWER
yes, you certainly do.
* ‘except for my wife and half korean children.’ sperwer
pawikirogi:
Oh Magoo, you’ve done it again!
Smart furniture! Don’t sit in a brick oven when you have a hangover.
sperwer,
hanshimhan saramah, maybe you are a regular reader of Screw and have been to certain bathhouses that offers something other than just baths around K-town and fort lee for a loooong time, but jjimjilbang (legitimitate business) has NOT been around anywhere as long as room salons. And I would think you know that there is difference in Mokyongtang and Jjimjilbang.
And I certainly haven’t seen non-koreans going into jjimjilbang until recently.
Well, I guess NYT isn’t fair and balanced like Screw. If my head is stuck up my ass, it is only to escape from the putrid stench that comes from your mouth and fingers.
Sheesh, another Marmot’s thread turned into middle school bathroom graffiti.
I want an opinion gauge on whether or not Kim Ki Duk is a pervert or if he’s showing a real side of South Korea.
Also, is there any of this linkable back to Japan?
Hmm…
Discuss, discuss…if you wish.
westerners seem to like his film.
is it art? But, all his films seem like this.
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[...] were already jimjilbangs in the greater New York City area, but the Post reports that this is the first around [...]