By From the Korea Times:
Jangheung county in South Jeolla Province will open the nation’s first nudist area, the “nude forest bath,” on July 30 where people are allowed to walk through the trees naked, officials said Monday.
The county has been building the area, called Vivi Ecotopia, inside the Jangheung Woodland, famous for hundreds of 40-year-old cypress trees on 33 hectares of land.
Tens of thousands of visitors are expected to experience the forest bath each year where they will be exposed to phytoncides released by the trees. The antimicrobial, allelochemic, volatile organic compounds are known to relax the human body.
“We will open Korea’s first nude forest bath area to the public on July 30,” a Jangheung county official said. [Korea Times]
So is this really Korea’s first nudist area? Well not really:
“We will charge those who want to experience the forest bath nude an entrance fee. But we have not yet decided on the amount. The visitors will receive disposable panties and gowns free of charge. But they can also wear their own clothes if they want to,” the official said.
“With clothes on, visitors can go anywhere they want to. But those who want to take part in the experience naked should remain inside the huts or in a designated outdoor area. Men and women will be also separated from each other,” he said.
Sounds more like a jimjilbang in the forest than a nudist area.
7:26 pm on July 18th, 2011 1
“…disposable panties and gowns free of charge…” Now we’re talkin’!
“…naked should remain inside the huts or in a designated outdoor area. Men and women will be also separated from each other”
Blah. So I get to go to a sausage fest? No thanks.
9:18 pm on July 18th, 2011 2
…actually, sounds like womens soccer would be more interesting…
9:39 pm on July 18th, 2011 3
“The visitors will receive disposable panties”
I’m opening up a shop out back by the dumpsters.
I’m thinking of calling it Sniffers’ Paradise.
Anybody here want to join the advanced sign-up for membership?
9:55 pm on July 18th, 2011 4
So, basically, they are opening the first openly gay swinger’s park…
9:57 pm on July 18th, 2011 5
4. I dunno. The article didn’t mention glory holes.
11:00 pm on July 18th, 2011 6
“Sounds more like a jimjilbang in the forest than a nudist area.”
Call me cynical if you want, but I knew that’s what it would turn out to be after reading the first sentence in that article.
11:08 pm on July 18th, 2011 7
…Interestingly enough, I probably understand Chinese more than German now…if spoken by a second or third generation American or Canadian. It’s just strange how their pronunciation resembles Korean (or at least it does to me), and since Korean has many Chinese loanwords….
1:38 am on July 19th, 2011 8
You won’t be able to get a hotel room or find a parking spot for MILES around once they open this place. Every pervert with a camera, in Korea, is already making plans to attend, once the Mud Festival is finished.
2:31 am on July 19th, 2011 9
First nudist area? *cough*bathhouses*cough*
3:36 am on July 19th, 2011 10
“once the Mud Festival is finished.”
I don’t know if they are perverts, but they were annoying (if you’re going to take pictures of strangers in their bathing suits or of their kids, ask first)…Then again, they weren’t as much of a nuisance as the drunken idiots (all of which I saw were foreigners).
2:16 pm on July 19th, 2011 11
I already have Korean men stare at me on the subway when I am dressed. I sure hope they keep men and women separate. They tried this with the subway cars and it didn’t work. Hmmm … I wonder if the nude area will have some beds to rest on
2:25 pm on July 19th, 2011 12
#11
If the last 2 letters of your ID imply what I think, you probably get second and third glances from most men.
2:26 pm on July 19th, 2011 13
… and women.
2:39 am on November 8th, 2011 14
The public safety committee of the Board of Supervisors is considering a ban on nudity in San Francisco restaurants. Not Safe For Work – Abby Sewell’s LA Times story includes a photo of a topless diner.