South Korea offers therapy for tourists: Where to go for wellness

Vacations are usually cluttered with various stop in all the "tourist-y" places, leaving most feeling winded up instead of loosened up.

Connie Sison and Dr. Rolando "Doc Oyie" Balburias in "Pinoy MD" finds the most relaxing places in South Korea where vacationers may choose to go to shed some stress and toxins.

RELATED: 9 cool things first-timers in Seoul must try

1. Visit a jimjilbang in Incheon

In Korean, "jimjil" literally means heating and it's somewhat similar to the onsen in Japan. There's a gender-segregated public bath, hot tubs, massage chairs, and a sauna room. It even has a sleeping room, so some tourists opt to stay in a jimjilbang instead of a hotel.

In Cheongna Sparex, Doc Oyie tried their sauna. "Ginagamit ito talaga para sa sistema ng katawan natin to detoxify or to remove toxins. Kasi isang paraan para tanggalin natin yung mga hindi kailangan ng katawan natin is sa ating sweat o sa ating pawis," he explained.

People may opt to lie down in the sauna room, especially those who are suffering from arthritis as it relieves neuralgia. Sitting in a sauna also allows the body to sweat out toxins and dead materials.

Aside from the normal sauna, there's also the Himalayan salt sauna available in the jimjilbang. "Dahil hindi ito kasing init ng red clay sauna na una kong napuntahan, mas komportableng mahiga at makatulog dito," Connie explained.

The salt is fragrant and helps clear upper respiratory ailments.

2. Enjoy a bowl of samgye-tang

It's hard to imagine anything more comforting than a piping hot serving of Sinigang, but in Korea, there's a dish similar to tinola that has "anti-aging qualities."

Samgye-tang — loosely translating to ginseng chicken soup — has proline. "Proline is an amino acid na nako-convert into collagen, pang anti-aging yan," Doc Oyie said.

The ginseng in the dish also improves blood circulation and has some healing properties.

All the ingredients to make sam is available in the Philippines and Doc Oyie encourages trying to dish for yourself.

Shop for the following:

• 1 whole onion
• 1 whole garlic
• 1/4 cup dates
• 1/4 ginko tree nuts
• 1/2 cup glutinous rice
• ginseng and various tree barks
• 1 whole spring chicken.

As a bonus tip, Doc Oyie said that making portions more manageable like the South Koreans do is great for digestion as "the way they eat, so small serving since there’s art to it. Even 'yong kumakain, unlike us sa Pilipinas, 'pag nilagay yung pagkain, subo, lunok na lang. Sometimes, that leads to indigestion."

3. Consult and perhaps try Korean traditional medicine

  In one of 10 hospitals that offer traditional Korea and modern medicine, you can consult with a specialist to find out which of the four types of people you are.

They base this on which dominant organ you have: Lungs, pancreas, liver, or kidney. They also believe that organs are connected via the fingers and for a diagnosis, thus the specialist make you wear a ring to check for disorders.

In case you're wondering: The thumb is connected to the liver, the index finger is connected to the heart, the ring finger is connected to the heart, and the pinky is connected to the liver.

Similar to the Chinese acupuncture, the next step is using needles to improve blood circulation in certain parts of the body.

4. Shop for herbs

For a souvenir of wellness, make a stop at Herb Island. It'a 98,000 square meter tourist attraction that features a variety of Mediterranean herbs. Take a stroll through the beautiful garden and pick up a few items at the gift shop on the way out. — LA, GMA News