Revitalize
Your Body in Jeju!
Yano Becomes a Queen for a Day at Swiss Perfection
Wellness SPAmed! |
A resident of Korea for six years, Yano
recently gained weight and began to feel stiff. She decided to take
a 3-day holiday from the hustle and bustle of the city for some
relaxation in the country. To cure her physical fatigue, she spent
a day at Swiss Perfection Wellness SPAmed in Jeju, a luxury spa
complex frequented by many famous stars and VIP clientele.
Located in the foothills of Mt. Hallasan, 600 meters above sea level
where oxygen is abundant, the Swiss Perfection Wellness SPAmed is
a skin renewal medical center, and a branch of CLP established in
Switzerland in 1931. Besides the headquarters in Switzerland, the
spa in Jeju is the second in the world and the first in Asia.
Wellness SPAmed is recognized not only for its scientific skin care
treatments but also the development of a program that is based on
the benefits of wellness programs in the West and the East. The
Chromatherapy program is also one of its key offerings: an electronic
beam is positioned directly on your body to measure your condition,
and then your body is treated using colors. Client satisfaction
is further enhanced by Swiss Perfection, which is a luxury cosmetic
line developed by CLP.
The skin renewal medical center, CLP, has been visited quite
frequently by VIP clientele around the world including Audrey Hepburn,
Charlie Chaplin as well as European royalty including Queen Elizabeth.
Now, their technology is available in Jeju, a popular tourist island
off of the Korean peninsula known for its resorts. The Jeju center
caters to Korea’s rich and famous as well as international tourists
from Japan, United States, China and Vietnam. The staff has a basic
command of English and Japanese to make the spa as convenient as
possible for foreign visitors.
 One-time
Body Care Treatment Experienced by Yano |
To relieve her work-induced
stress, Yano requested the 3-hour body care program. Here is a step-by-step
description of the program.
•STEP
1 Measuring Chromatherapy and Skin Care Consultation
After filling out a profile card, clients have a consultation for Chromatherapy
to determine the color best suited to him/her (Color is known to
have an emotional impact on humans). During the consultation, the
client can request a special treatment for chloasma, lifting and
wrinkles. Yano requested fatigue recovery and skin renewal since
she had been feeling rather tense and her skin was dry. |
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•STEP
2 Preparation & Make-up Removal
After consultation,
clients are guided to the changing room, where there are four changing
spaces to accommodate the four-member golf teams. (As Wellness SPAmed
is located in the Nine Bridge Golf Club compound, it is also a facility
used by golfers). Clients change into a gown and remove their make-up.
In the powder room, the Swiss Perfection line of skin lotion and
cleansing products are on hand. |
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•STEP
3 Main Whirlpool & Sauna
Then, they move to the main whirlpool area and enjoy a glorious spa. Fed
by the subterranean springs of Mt. Hallasan, the water’s abundant
minerals make one’s skin smooth and silky. Glass windows span three
sides of the spa, making full use of the natural light. Outside,
bamboo trees create the feeling of a spa in nature.
After
a quick shower, clients enjoy a slow relaxing experience in the
whirlpool. Once in the whirlpool, the door closes, providing individuals
with privacy to enjoy a quiet and soothing half-body bath. On the
other hand, people can also enjoy the pool with loved ones or family.
After the whirlpool, go to the sauna next door to sweat out your
body toxins. The spa offers both a dry sauna, using 50 different
Oriental herbs, and a wet sauna with aromatherapy. After enjoying
the whirlpool, Yano took a 15- to 20-minute dry sauna, which is
not quite as hot. |
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•STEP
4 Take a Short Break Drinking Aroma Tea
A good sweat
in the sauna is bound to make your body feel somewhat languid. So,
after the whirlpool, clients go to the relaxation room for a fresh
cup of mild aromatic tea, made from organic ingredients from France.
This is the perfect time to read or watch television. |
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•STEP
5 Water Massage in a Personal Whirlpool
After the break, relax in a water massage. Clients enjoy an individual
whirlpool and a 15-minute water massage with 48 jets to stimulate
the body and relieve stress. To enhance the experience, the water
is infused with the client’s aroma of choice. The lights are turned
off and the individual chromatherapy begins. Yano chose an aroma
for toxic cleansing aroma, which her chromatherapy color was blue. |
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•STEP6
Vichy Shower for Higher Circulation
Clients also enjoy another type of water massage called the Vichy Shower.
They lie on a massage table as water sprays down from nine showerheads
above, stimulating major circulation points from head to toe. The
water flow is just strong enough to be relaxing. This 10- to 15-minute
treatment is presently available only for women. |
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•STEP
7 Two-hour Body Massage
The next step involves a full body massage using both hands and a machine.
After choosing aromatic oil, the client lies face-down as the massage
starts from the back, and follows down the buttocks and legs. The
back is then wrapped in a seaweed pack to remove toxins, while the
buttocks will get a hip-lifting treatment. The frontal treatment
includes the face, abdomen, breasts, arms, legs, and the soles of
the feet. The face, breasts, and abdomen gets the machine treatment
for lifting and lipo-decomposition. The rest is performed by hand.
This regime is also accompanied by chromatherapy.
Yano
chose the toxin-removing aroma for her oil massage. During the face
lift and abdominal lipo decomposition, which was particularly intensive
for good results, she was surprised by the pinching sensation from
the electric current. And although she felt that the paraffin pack
was rather hot, it certainly smoothed her heels to her satisfaction.
Tip: Couples or family members can
use the “couples’ room” that accommodates up to three people.
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•STEP
8 Changing Clothes & Make-up
When the treatment is over, you will change your clothes in the dressing
room. Then, go to the powder room where a cup of warm, aromatic
tea awaits you. The three-hour program ends as you apply your makeup,
do your hair and drink some tea.
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What
was Yano’s Satisfaction Level? ★★★★
·Reason 1: “In
contrast to spas in Southeast Asia, Korean spas also
use state-of-the-art machines. I was particularly impressed
by the abdominal and face-lift treatment to decompose
fat using electric current. I really felt like a queen
being massaged by two masseurs.”
·Reason
2: “I loved the main whirlpool where I enjoyed
a half-body bath. The door was closed and I was in my
own private space. Natural light was coming in through
the window glass, and I felt like I was in an open-air
hot spring. That’s why I think it’s better to come
here during the day.”
·Reason
3: “After three hours of a full body treatment,
my skin was smooth and my muscles were perfectly relaxed.
More than anything else, this will be a favorite amongst
females because the staff is so hospitable and the interior
design is upscale.” |
*Visitor’s
Information
·Location: Nine Bridge Golf
Club, Gwangpyeong-ri 15, Andeok-myeon, Seogwipo-si,
Jeju-do
·Price:
- Facial & body treatment 440,000 won (About 3 hours)
- Body Treatment & 1 option of face or legs: 330,000
won (About 2 hours)
- Facial & upper torso &
hands: 275,000 won (About 1.5 hours)
- Hands, feet,
back, and hydrotherapy each: 99,000 won (About 1.5 hours)
- Star package: 1,320,000 won (Spa, 1-night stay in
a condominium, breakfast for two)
·Tel:
+82-64-793-9977 (Korean, English, Japanese)
·How
to Get There: (By car) From Jeju International
Airport, take Seobu Gwangwang highway and make a right
turn at Green Resort. Pass by Road Land’s Golf Club
and you will find Wellness SPAmed located within Nine
Bridge Golf Club.
(Public Transportation) It takes
30 minutes by taxi from the airport. |
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Plus
Course Tips! Yano’s Jeju Island Hands-On Course
After spending
half a day at the spa, Yano headed out for a first-hand
tour of the island. She experienced horse riding and
went to Oreum (a hill in Jeju) where she enjoyed skeet
shooting, a great stress-reliever.
•Course
1: Horseback Riding on Oreum!
With its expansive
grasslands, Jejudo is famous for grazing horses since
long ago. Even today, there are about 20 horse ranches
located throughout the island, which are popular with
tourists who want to ride. Even if you have never ridden
a horse, you can feel perfectly safe with a trainer
nearby. Yano selected a 20-minute horseback riding course
to Oreum at Chowon Seungmajang Ranch (초원승마장) in
Seogwipo.
She donned her cowboy hat and waited until a few
horses came out and walked over to her. She chose 11-year-old
Yonsama, named after popular Korean film star Bae Yong-joon,
who actually rode it last October. It has been the ranch’s
most popular horse ever since. Most horses there are
crossbred between local ponies and race horses from
abroad.
After Yano mounted the horse according
to the trainer’s instructions, Yonsama started to walk
ahead slowly. “We walked up Oreum for about 10 minutes,
and then a beautiful landscape came into sight before
my eyes. It was so touching,” she said. “Going uphill,
I sometimes felt a bit nervous, but riding on horseback
in nature felt like the greatest thing I’ve experienced.”
* Visitor’s Information: Chowon Seungmajang Ranch
(초원승마장)
Location:
150 Sangye-dong, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do
Hours:
9:00am ~ sunset
No closing days, except on rainy
days
Price: a 10-minute
course: 11,000 won, a 20-minute course: 22,000 won,
a 30-minute course: 35,000 won
Tel:
+82-64-738-0344 (Korean, Japanese)
How
to Get There: Take a limousine bus from the airport
and get off at Shilla Hotel. Take a 10-minute taxi ride.
•Course
2 Skeet-Shooting, a Great Stress-Reliever
Next, Yano visited Daeyu Land for skeet-shooting to
relieve all of her stress. This place is well known
as a film location for the TV drama Jumong
and All
In.
Skeet-shooters use a shotgun to hit a clay target
flying at 60 to 70 kilometers per hour.
This was
the first time Yano had done skeet-shooting before.
She said, “It was really fun to hit a flying target.
This is a unique experience that you cannot do every
day.” She also added, “The shotgun is heavier than
I thought, and the kick when I pulled the trigger was
a surprise. It was also really loud.” |
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Plus
Tips!
•Plus
Food Tips! Yano’s Seafood Casserole and Okdom Fish
Jejudo Island has a variety of local foods containing fish and
shellfish. Among these, haemul jeongol (seafood casserole),
obunjak ttukbaegi (small abalone stew in a stone pot),
galchi jorim (boiled hairtail), jeonbokjuk (abalone
porridge), okdom (tilefish), are popular among tourists.
Another local favorite is heukdwaeji (black pig meat).
Over her three-day visit, Yano enjoyed numerous local
foods. On the first day, she had haemul jeongol with
lots of seafood; on the second day, she tried galchi
jorim boiled in a soybean sauce; on the last day, she
ate grilled okdom, a fish that is only caught around
Jeju. She said all three were delicious and suitable
for foreigners. Most dishes cost between 8,000 and 9,000
won per person, which is slightly more expensive than
hanjeongsik (a set meal).
•Plus
More Tips! Yano’s Recommended Tourist Sites for Relaxation
Since the purpose of Yano’s trip was to relax, she
visited tourist sites that fulfilled that goal. The
following are sites where you can fully enjoy the beauty
of nature.
→
Hyeopjae Beach / →
Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak (Sunrise Peak)
→
Seopjikoji / →
Mara-do Island |
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Article & Photo by Park Ji-hyun
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