Jjimjilbang (Public bath houses/saunas/spa) in Seoul

Public bath houses in Korea




One very Korean experience to be had during your time in Seoul is a trip to one of the many Jjimjilbangs.  As described on Wikipedia, a Jjimjilbang (찜질방) is a large, gender-segregated public bathhouse in Korea, furnished with hot tubs, showers, Korean traditional kiln saunas and massage tables. Jjimjil is derived from the words meaning heated bath. However, in other areas of the building or on other floors there are unisex areas, usually with a snack bar, ondol-heated floor for lounging and sleeping, wide-screen TVs, exercise rooms, ice rooms, heated salt rooms, PC bang, noraebang, and sleeping quarters with either bunk beds or sleeping mats. For the most part, these facilities are open 24-hours a day and Koreans are often spending the night there. 

This is one of, if not the most popular way for Koreans to relax and get rid of the stresses of daily life. It is very common for families to visit these spas together as well as groups of friends. Hwayoung's dad very much wanted to take me to one of these during my trip to Korea three years ago. At the time, I was a little hesitant to do so. There were two reasons. For one, the language barrier between us made doing things on our own difficult. Secondly, well, there is one aspect to these places that is a little foreign for most Westerners...

Those willing and wishing to experience a Jjimjilbang while in Korea should be prepared for one thing - nudity. 

While gender-segregated in such areas, patrons will inevitably be, more often than not, presented to you au natural. Fair warning. While in many areas you can choose to wear a bathing suit, many around you won't. Also, there will be areas where it is either considered strange to wear clothing or where it isn't even permitted!

For most areas, you will strip down in the locker room and put on the shorts and shirts given to you by the establishment:




With that said, there are bath houses that are generally considered to be slightly more tailored for foreigners to enjoy. A very famous one located in Seoul is called Dragon Hill Spa.

http://www.dragonhillspa.co.kr/hill/eng.html

With an entrance fee of about 10 bucks, this can be a great place to visit. That covers use of all jacuzzis, pools, saunas, showers and lockers. Everything else, like food and drinks, massages and other treatments, the arcade and cinema, are extra. See the link below to a blog with a great description of the author's experience at Dragon Hill.

http://bloodriceandnoodles.blogspot.ca/2011/03/dragon-hill-spa-our-first-jjimjilbang.html

Here is the link to trip advisor to see what others have written about Dragon Hill:

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g294197-d1641304-Reviews-Dragonhill_Spa_Resort-Seoul.html

For those that may want to go a little (or a lot) more high-end, another well known Jjimjilbang (Spa) is the Banyan Tree Club & Spa.

http://www.banyantree.com/en/seoul/

Another link, from CNN Travel shows what it considers the top 3 options for Jjimjilbangs:

http://travel.cnn.com/seoul/play/seouls-3-best-korean-style-spas-803323

I can't tell you my own experience at a Jjimjilbang because I've never actually gone. I expect to change this in September and very much encourage you to to the same!