“Why not? I live like a king here,” he said, sitting in a steam room. Troy Curtis, 35, an actor, singer and producer who was a member of the Puerto Rican boy band Menudo, has stayed at King Spa for as long as two months at a time, he said. But the New Jersey location, he said, “is the only one that reminds me of living in Korea.” King Spa franchises have also opened in Chicago and Dallas, which Mr. Kakuda, the Air Force veteran, withstood 15 seconds. At night, the sweat lodge doubles as a kiln for baking eggs served in the cafeteria when the lodge reopens for customers, around 10:30 a.m., it swelters at a blistering 392 degrees Fahrenheit - workers advise guests to wear several layers of heavy burlap protective coverings. The Egyptian-style pyramid sauna, flanked by sphinxes and the busts of pharaohs, is lined with 23-karat “genuine gold leaves imported from Germany,” according to a placard. The bubble-gum baroque furniture looks like Carmela Soprano collaborated with Willy Wonka.
“Today’s Special Power Combo” juice is the same every day: strawberry, kiwi, banana, homemade sautéed yellow bean powder, imported yogurt, brown sugar and crushed ice. The cafeteria sells bibimbap and bulgogi, a traditional Korean beef dish, as well as jalapeño octopus and patbingsu, a heap of sweets - fruits, syrups, condensed milk and sweet beans - atop shaved ice. The sound system may jump from Muzak-style versions of “Fields of Gold’’ by Sting, to “Memory’’ from the Broadway production of “Cats” or “Greensleeves,” a 16th-century ballad. Televisions are tuned to the Golf Channel or Korean game shows and soap operas. A framed cover of Newsweek from 1998 showing a Korean golfer is as likely a decoration as a life-size wooden statue of an ancient Korean warrior on horseback.
The plastic ferns are sprinkled with glitter. There are signs warning visitors not to use the spa while under the influence of hypnotics.
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