Korean Rice Enzyme Spa

Mar 6

I recently had an adventure to a local Korean Rice Enzyme Spa that I will never forget. They say that by covering the whole body in the hot rice bran enzyme, it helps relieves stress and fatigue. The rice enzyme raises the body temperature, and in doing so eliminates toxins by stimulating the pores of the entire body (sweat it out), helps improve blood circulation as well as strengthens the blood vessels. Great, sign me up!

When you walk into the spa after changing into the clothing they provide, you are given a hair covering and then escorted to your spot in the rice. The nice man digs your hole and in you go. The rice enzyme naturally heats up, and once you are buried they advise you not to move or the friction makes it even hotter. You are supposed to stay completely buried for 15 minutes (they set a timer for you), then you come out of the rice to cool down, then lay back down on top or sit on top of the rice for roughly another 30 minutes or so. All in all, the experience is about an hour with the rice portion.

If you made it this far in the post congratulations, the best is yet to come. It never dawned on me as I walked past the very open showers in the locker room that of course I would have to somehow get this smelly enzyme off of me afterwards. My friend failed to warn me of the strip down communal shower afterwards when we planned this outing but hey, when in Korea. I approached the shower room and was met with a conundrum, where was I going to shower? After stalling for as long as I could by slowly brushing the rice enzyme off of my arms and legs, it was time. My friend had scored a nice corner spot away from prying eyes, but my only option was between two lovely Korean ladies or park it proudly under the first shower head and get to work. First shower head it was!

As I was frantically scrubbing as quickly as I could, I suddenly feel water (more water) streaming down my back. The nice Korean lady behind me started assisting in my rice removal. I awkwardly laughed, nodded my head in thanks and ran for soap. I got back to furiously rinsing off my soap when the next thing I know, she was now rubbing my back down with a scrub (make sure you use this scrub after to eliminate the smell), I jumped in surprise. I bowed awkwardly again when she finished, rinsed quickly again then reached for a handful of the tiny tea towels they provide for drying off and made my escape.

I was relaying my experience to my friend in the massage chairs afterwards (she had managed to shower and escape quickly like a seasoned pro) and she was completely unfazed by my story as she has now been living in Korea for four years. She simply laughed and said “Welcome to Korea, everyone is your ajumma”. Welcome to Korea indeed.