Korean 'Masaji'
I first cried over a severe back ache that started with a stiff neck back in January of this year, enough for my housemates to rid themselves of such an unbearable face, as they finally brought me to a nearby massage place when it has reached my lower back. It was mainly brought about by the double wham of the very cold weather and the stress at work during that time. Seven months later, and I am at it again. Except that this time, my body seems to have gotten used to it. My back has been getting a great deal of beating lately, and I am afraid that the pain is becoming bearable. My body is forced to get used to the pain, especially when my mind is more occupied with deadlines and crammed reports everyday. Practically, there’s just no time to feel it. But when you finally steal a minute of relaxing and not thinking too much, you suddenly get overwhelmed by the weight of such pain in the back that has seemed to have temporarily muted, since there was just no space in your brain to process the pain. That’s exactly what just happened to me.Anyway, I splurged on an afternoon massage today. I may actually recommend a massage service as a good business idea here in Korea, especially if you place it in such a fast-paced, competitive, and highly-stressful area like Yeouido where most of the securities firms abound. They can really give you the long hours of work that will make you sit on your chair as early as seven in the morning until midnight. If that is still not enough to strain your back as you sit the whole time through, then it’s never too hard to extend more. Haha.
Okay, I know how massage services may instantly connote more than just the plain massages, but apart from the underground business that may arise, there are actually a lot of ‘decent’ massage services here in South Korea. Koreans are such health buffs, if I may just tell, and they will always be willing to spend on anything that will make them always pretty, healthy, and in shape.
And so those with entrepreneurial minds who have grown tired of being corporate slaves to offices and manufacturing firms then think of learning a skill that they like and will make money from. Pretty much like a certain Baek Jaimun, who runs Healing Hands, a massage center in Itaewon.
I remember still calling him over the phone despite being just down outside the building where it is located, simply because I didn’t look up to see its name at the 3rd floor. So he obviously knew it was me who just called when I entered the place. I was immediately served tea as I waited for just a short five minutes before I was called to go to one of the rooms to take my clothes off and change on the shorts that the massage center provides.
The place is pretty decent in size, with two major divisions for the massage areas. Each division has two beds that can always take in couples who go together for a massage. They are of course up for solo customers like me. The furniture was pretty simple and neat, with just the right blend of the needed atmosphere in a massage center. It would be easy to remind you though, as you look outside the window, that you are in a crowded area like Itaewon.
Anyway, all that shuts off when you start getting the massage. I’ve experienced both Swedish and Thai massages before, so it was pretty hard to tell what exact type of massage I actually got (if it was a combination of both or a slight variation of either massage types, or a completely different kind of massage). One thing that I can say is that it was all good, and just what I REALLY needed. Baek Jaimun was very professional in doing it, and he was pretty cool in conversations, too. I might forgive him already for calling my back a “Korean ajumma’s back” (Korean old woman’s back), since he was very nice in talking to me as his first-time customer.
I chose a massage package for myself, which includes a 70-minute full body massage, plus a 20-minute hot stone massage. All in all it costed me 80,000 won (around 3,000php). It would've have been pretty hefty in value for me had I not needed it so badly. I must say it was all worth the price, since I really felt relaxed afterwards.Healings Hands also offer foot massages and a tanning booth. I might try getting a foot massage the next time.
