A Bathhouse Immersed In Tradition

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This Korean Spa Is a 'Hot' Attraction

Spa World Resort, a Korean bathhouse in Centreville, Va., opened to the public on Feb. 27.

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"The biggest part is the chatting," said Jong Bae Lee, branch manager of the Korean bank next door to the spa.

Connected to the locker rooms are the respective men's and women's baths -- the "naked area," as planning manager Brandon Bae put it. In damp rooms laden with pink granite, patrons get pummeled in a warm pool by all manner of water massage jets and dip into scented baths. Nudity is mandatory, Bae said, citing Korean tradition.

"If you get used to it, it's nothing," he said.

Sang K. Lee, the owner, said he hopes non-Koreans will get used to it. Although managers expect the crowds to initially be heavily Korean, he wants all kinds of people to hit Spa World, which charges $35 for a day pass. Food, drinks and massages are extra.

"Two different peoples are living here with different customs and lifestyles, so I hope that this is a good chance to see the two peoples know each other," South Korea's consul general, Tae M. Kwan, said at last week's grand opening, as waiters with black ties and flushed faces strode around the sultry main room serving champagne from silver trays.

Park, the newspaper reporter, was cautious about the crossover possibilities.

"It takes some time to get to know about the spa in here, the American community. This is something that needs time," he said.

As the consul spoke, hundreds of sweating Korean seniors, who were let in free for the occasion, shuffled from one hot room to another clasping champagne flutes, looking as relaxed as if in their own living rooms.

"This kind of sauna is the traditional Korean way of keeping health. We love it," said Hong Khang, 78, of Haymarket, who sat in a group on the warm floor.

"That's why Korean people look so young," said his wife, Myong Khang, who did look a fair bit younger than her 68 years. Everyone should give the spa a try, she said. Still, Hong Khang deemed it unlikely that he would be accompanied by one of his 10 grandchildren on future visits.

"They are American citizens, so not much interested," he said.

Upstairs in the massage hall, which will begin offering services this month, two orange-clad women tested out a table. One lay on her stomach; the other walked on her back.

Across the corridor in the foot massage room, Seng K. Park stretched lazily in a crimson leather chair while a masseur rubbed sea-green goop onto the balls of his feet and his calf. Park, who owns a Centreville laundromat, said he used to drive to a New York area spa once or twice a month. Not anymore.

"Right now I feel so, so happy about this. I can be relaxed," Park, 60, said. "I am so, so proud of us as a Korean people."