Immediately upon arriving I set forth to find the gym, knowing I would need some sort of physical activity to accompany the massive amount of sweet desserts and bakery goodness I am eating here. Here are pictures of the Fitness Center on campus that I was able to take on a Saturday morning, where I was one of two people there.
These pictures aren’t really the best, but it is a pretty small gym. This is really all that it is- one big room with weights, treadmills on the side (I was taking the picture from one), and a mirror room.
I’ve only ever gone in the mornings, but around 8am it won’t be that crowded and then gets busier around 10am. You check in with your student id and they give you a key to a locker that you can use. You can also pay 5,000 per month to rent your own locker.
Mirror room with yoga mats and balls in the back.
Now the poopy part is that you have to pay for a membership here. It is 50,000 per month, but for 4 months its 35,000 per month. It gets cheaper if you stay longer than that too. Apparently that is a really good deal in Korea where gym memberships can get up to 70-100 per month. You can also pay more and they have clothes that you can rent to wear. A pink shirt (that the girl in the pic is wearing) for girls, blue for guys (yes, gender norms very apparent here), and long black shorts. I didn’t pay extra for those and feel very abnormal in my own gym clothes because most people do wear the gym attire. Also, I am usually one of 3-4 girls every time I go, and especially one of the only ones doing weights.
It was worth it for me to get the membership and I enjoy starting my day off well with working out, but walking around in Korea alone (with all of the hills and stairs) is also an extra dose of exercise compared to the standard American life!