Cafe and room culture are all the rage in South Korea. I’ve written about a lot of the different types of rooms that exist in Seoul like Singing Rooms, Gaming Rooms, Food Rooms, and even multi-Rooms! The latest and greatest cafe/room trend are the numerous Healing Cafes popping up all over the city.
A Healing Cafe isn’t exactly what you think it is. It’s not some mini-hospital or pharmacy but instead a place of relaxation and rest. In a Healing Cafe you’ll find super deluxe massage chairs straight out of some Sci-Fi movie designed to poke, prod, and massage your body into a blissful state of being.
The one we went to in Gangnam is called 토닥토닥(to dak to dak) and it introduced my friend Paul and I into a peaceful state of zen heretofore unknown to us. The decor is all modern and done in basic black and white. After switching out our shoes for slippers we were shown the menu. The choices were basically between a half an hour or an hour in one of their massage chairs. We opted for the thirty minutes for 6,000 KRW, but I soon wished we’d gone for the full hour at 10,000 KRW. The attendant showed us to a private room. There’s instructions on how to manipulate the massage chair but it’s not complicated. You won’t need it.
Chair isn’t really the right word for the device. It’s more like a cocoon or capsule the way it envelops your body. Its like some NASA space shuttle chair for astronauts. Once your settled down inside you can start off with the first setting. It’s a prelude to the overwhelming state of restfulness that awaits. Five settings in total will let your anticipation grow for the steps to follow. Lets just say that after the first two settings I named my chair Sebastian. After the third and fourth setting I was ready to ask Sebastian out on a date. When I finally reached setting number five I was ready for matrimony. I didn’t know at the time, but the attendant later explained that it all works due to a series of air bags that alternately compress, rub, and roll over your muscles from the bottom of your feet to the top of your head. It’s heaven. Hell, it’s better than heaven because it’s here and now and waiting for you at a cafe in Gangnam.
Unfortunately our thirty minutes elapsed all too fast. I bid adieu to Sebastian as the attendant swooped in to escort us back out into the lobby where our choice of hot tea or coffee awaited. While we sipped away we tried their mini-massage items such as a helmet for the head, a strap harness for shoulders and another contraption for feet. They were good, but I missed my Sebastian.
So, the moral of the story is to get yourself to a Healing Cafe. They’re all over the city. Just stay away from 토닥토닥 because Sebastian is all mine.
Tel : 02-565-5999
Open : 11:00 ~ 24:00
Address : 서울특별시 강남구 역삼동 620-9 1층 토닥토닥
(강남역11번출구 도보5분거리)
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