Gyms in Korea: Hyundai Fitness in Mokdong

*The following is a review of Hyundai Fitness located in Mokdong. Read on to learn how to get a discount on a membership*

When you’re eating barbecue at least once every couple of weeks and eating out a lot on the weekends, you might have a tendency to put on a few pounds in Korea. If you do, you should immediately hit up a gym because “thin is in” in Korea. There is so much pressure to look good here it’s like a pursuit of happiness. Anyways, the last time I worked out was…the summer of 2006. So when a brand new gym opened up shop in the basement level of our building, I was quick to check out what it was all about.

Hyundai Fitness is a large facility that offers a full gym with equipment, free weights, treadmills with LCD TVs, stationary bicycles, elliptical trainers, a steam room, stocked locker room with showers (complimentary lockers, soap, shampoo, Q-Tips, lotion, towels, etc. are all included), an exercise studio, two indoor driving ranges, and a golf simulator. All the equipment is brand new at Hyundai Fitness. They definitely did not spare any details when it came to setting up the place.

Like most gyms in Korea, workout clothing is supplied with your membership! This is an awesome service because it saves you from doing laundry at home. You just show up, trade your membership card for a locker key at the front desk, pick up a pair of shorts (the kind that has the built in underwear lining that we all love to hate), a dri-fit-like t-shirt and you’re ready to go. They have blue shirts for the guys and red shirts for the women. It’s quite the site seeing everyone wearing the same clothes…it’s like we are on some sort of sports team in training.

Working out is convenient for us because we can just go straight after work at night. The gym so far is relatively busy with lots of people working out. There are two to three personal trainers on hand at all times that speak English. They are very helpful and motivate you when you’re trying to slack off. So far we have enjoyed using their facilities and the staff there is extremely friendly and helpful. The big question remains…how much does a membership cost?

The Part You’ve Been Waiting For:

You all know by now that Gdog is known for getting deals (tea deals that is). Today is your lucky day because I’ve managed to secure an EXCLUSIVE discount on membership for readers of The Daily Kimchi! Did I say discount? Yes I did…let’s find out what I was able to come up with! There are three different type of memberships available: Platinum, Gold, and Silver. All memberships are a minimum six month term at Hyundai Fitness. Here are the prices before and after the discount:

Mention The Daily Kimchi to get this discount. You might have to talk to the owner as he is probably the only one that knows about our deal at the moment, but I am sure word will spread. Be persistent and you will save some cash!

Gold Membership (12 month term; price is per month)
Golf + Gym + Studio Classes 110,000w—-90,000w
Golf + Gym 100,000w—-80,000w
Gym + Studio Classes 70,000w—-60,000w
Gym 60,000w—-50,000w
12 month savings: 120-240,000w

Silver Membership (6 month term; price is per month)
Golf + Gym + Studio Classes 130,000w—-120,000w
Golf + Gym 120,000w—-110,000w
Gym + Studio Classes 80,000w—-70,000w
Gym 70,000w—-60,000w
Six month savings: 60,000w

Now that’s not a bad discount at all if you ask me. Given all the extras that are supplied by the gym this is a pretty good deal if you’re looking for a gym in Mokdong especially when you can hit all the balls you can handle in the golf area (the driving range is my favorite part–we’ll get onto that later).

This is what you will see the moment you enter Hyundai Fitness. Smile, you’re on candid camera!

Give them your membership card and you’ll be presented with a locker key attached to a bracelet:

These pictures don’t do justice. This calls for a walk around video…here we go. Watch for body shaking machines…do they actually work? People love them here. I’m sure they were delighted to see me walking around with my camera, hehe:

Here’s a picture of all the men and women in red and blue…it feels like a police academy or something! Notice the LCD TVs in the background. Every treadmill has one…I was watching two dudes duke it out on the Korean Game Channel, which looked like an Ultimate Fighting Championship match, but in a video game. The game of choice?–Starcraft (released in 1998!!).

The fitness studio…they offer various group exercises. I noticed some belly dancing classes going on when I first visited the gym…not in this pic though!

Here’s my favorite part of the gym–the golf area. There are two different rooms dedicated to golf, along with a putting green. Golf clubs and balls are included! I no longer need to stick with my homemade driving range!

…notice the monitors on the last two stalls. These monitors track the speed and distance of your shot. Also, there is an auto-loader that tees up your ball after your shot. It was my first time seeing one of these things…pretty cool.

Alright, move aside KJ Choi and Se Ri Pak…watch and learn from the master. Keep an eye on the automatic golf ball loader that tees up your ball. When you’re hitting a couple thousand balls a day, this thing will come in mighty handy. How’s my swing?

Here’s the golf simulator room. Who needs to go to a course when you can let a computer do all the work?

I hope you enjoyed this post as much as I did. We feel much healthier now that we are exercising more (it helps cough up the yellow dust build up in my lungs) plus I can hit a few golf balls in the process (the last time I hit some golf balls was in the UAE). Hyundai Fitness was kind enough to sponsor a membership for me in return for writing a review of their gym. At the same time, readers out there looking for a gym in Mokdong can get a nice discount too. In this case, everybody wins!

Hyundai Fitness is located in the same building as TGI Friday’s and Dan Sushi in Mokdong (basement level) about a 10 minute walk from either Omokgyo or Mokdong station. Hours are 6am to midnight, Monday to Friday, and 6am-9pm on Saturday and Sundays. They can be reached at 02-2061-0333.