Hot and Cool

              When the weather is cloudy and rainy, what do you do in your country? In
Korea, I would go to the “mock yuck tang”, which is a public bath house. It is place
where people can go to spa and bathe with their family or friends. The time you can
spend in the bath house is unlimited. Thus, people can soak as long as they want. I
have a bathing ritual that starts with getting into the bath tub and scrubbing my body
with a shower ball. Originally, the purpose of a bath house is for people only to wash
their body. However, these days, it is not only a wash room but also a place to relax.
There are TV rooms, restaurants, massage chairs, saunas and a swimming pool, so
there are many ways to relax in a bath house. In Chicago, I can do just about anything
that I want, including, watching films, listening to music, and eating Korean food.
However, the only thing I miss is the Korean spa culture because in a mock yuck tang, I
can feel fresh, and communicate with my family or friends.


           The first thing I miss is the hot and cold water bathtubs in mock yuck tang.
Before getting into the tub, people have to shower. This is public bathtub, which
anybody can enter, so everybody has to maintain good hygiene. The water temperature
in the bosuck Jacuzzi is around 70 Celsius and the back sides have jets for massage. I
love to sit there and recover from my fatigue, and it makes my body easier to scrub by
softening my skin. I sit until I feel dizzy and sweaty. Sometimes, I bet with my sister on
who can stay longer and endure the heat of the Jacuzzi and as a penalty the loser has
to go to the pool, which is very cold. Even though I cannot swim, I still have fun in the
water by splashing around. When I go to the Korean spa, I tour various kinds of baths
like a green tea tub and a salt tub to detoxify the body. In Chicago, I can submerge my
body into the small bathtub in my home, but I cannot enjoy diverse baths and Jacuzzis
like the ones I used to enjoy where I could chat with my mother or sister in the same


           Even more than the Jacuzzi, I miss the Korean shower ball. After I get into the
Jacuzzi, I scrub my skin with a traditional Korean green shower ball which has tough
fabric. When using the scrub on the skin, it can often be a little painful and can become
red. For me, that is not a problem. It is important to remove dead skin because it
promotes my cleanliness. There are parts of the body you cannot reach, so whenever I
went alone, I asked people who sat next to help me. Approximately 99% of the people
I asked would say yes, so we scrub each other's back and hips. Even though we had
met that first time and saw each other’s nude body I always felt comfortable and made a
new friend. If I went with my mother, she would rub my back using the shower ball and I
rub her back in return. After I scrub my body and check for dead skin cells, I feel finally
clean and fresh. In America, when washing myself I take long showers and use a soft
shower ball which is too soft to remove my dead skin. In addition, I have nobody to help
me clean my back and it does not feel friendly or warm the way a community bathhouse

           Finally, I miss the amusement of the various facilities offered by the public
bathhouse. The Bosuck sauna where I usually go includes a small resting room. In the
center, there is TV room, and on the right corner, there are restaurants where I usually
eat Korean hot and spicy noodles and drink traditional Korean juice, Sic Hae. There are
also saunas and places to sleep. For example, after my friends and I were up all night
studying for an exam, we slept on the warm floor and watched TV and chatted. These
facilities made people feel relaxed after a nice bath.


           We often spent twelve hours at the bath house. In Chicago, they do not have
many public wash rooms or bathtubs. Americans just quickly wash their bodies in a
small shower that is shaped like a old telephone booth. Koreans do not go bathhouses
every day. However, before big holidays or when feeling stressed, we go bathhouses
habitually. Around this season which is getting cool and rainy, my family would go to
bathhouse and have a great time. The Mock Yuck Tang is not just about cleaning but
also about feeling the warmth of community with the people who care about each other.
It just like a Starbucks in the US.

how to open own restaurant

My topic is how to open your own restaurant.

Most of the people in Korea lose their jobs before 60. After retiring, they start opening their own restaurant with their retirement allowance. Unfortunately they do not have enough experience and skill, because they worked for companies or government over 30 years. According to researches, the 80% of new restaurants goes bankrupt. There are 3 important recipes to flourish your restaurant. The keywords are food, interior and staff members.

       First process is about food. Choose the main dish which is your favorite food. When you run your restaurant, you have to check your food and improve your menu more delicious. If you do not like the food, you are not interested in food. After choosing the main dish, you have to make unique menu which people can eat this dish only your restaurant. For example, there are a plenty of Italian food restaurants in Chicago, but the Italian food is mixed with Korean traditional source like Ssanzang, or soybean source. That will be the special menu. So you do not need to enter into competition, because this food cannot be replaced by any other food. Next, when you cook food, buy the ingredients at night market. It might be cheaper than morning market. As a result, you can determine the reasonable price for dish. The cheaper, the more customers will gather your restaurant. And this is my tip for you. When a nice idea comes to mind, write down quickly.

Second process is about interior and place. Not only the taste but also the interior is essential point when customers choose restaurants. First, do not put TV in your restaurant. If people can watch TV while they are having dinner, they cannot remember which food they eat, how the taste is and how the staff member is. They will forget everything. And after they choose restaurants again, they will not choose the restaurant which they cannot remember. And then make menu board that people can see easily. Some owners consider that the menu is not important. However, it the menu is too complicated, People will be confused and cannot choose well, so they get stresses before eating. Next show the kitchen to your customer if you can. If people can see the back of house, they will believe that their food is clean and health.

Last process is about management. Most important thing is your workers. Consider them as your family. If you treat them kindly, they also treat customer kindly. Like old saying ‘Nice words for nice words. Your staff members are tangible assets. They already have lots of experience about how to get orders and how to serve and take plates effectively. When you treat in good way they think your restaurant also theirs. And they will work more hardly. 

 In conclusion, for the people who do not have any experience, but they want to succeed in their business, it is very useful information. As I write, there are 3 secrets. Choose your favorite food and have your own recipe then go to night farm market. Next, do not put TV and pay attention at menu and menu board. Finally, treat restaurant employees as family members. If you keep in mind these things, you do not need to be worried about failure.