Donghae Mureung Health Forest: Heat Therapy & A Sauna In Gangwon-do
Looking for a relaxing escape from Seoul, Korea? Discover the serene Donghae Mureung Health Forest (동해무릉건강숲) in Gangwon-do. Nestled in picturesque mountains, this health facility offers a rejuvenating experience for all visitors that make a trip to the area.
Mureung Health Forest promotes wellness for everyone, offering a range of affordable programs and activities like heat therapy, which comes highly recommended. And don’t miss the sauna’s Salt Cave and Oxygen Healing Room, complete with massage chairs and 24-hour oxygen generators.
While you’re there, take a scenic 20-minute walk to Mureung Valley, where you can immerse yourself in the refreshing mountain waters or explore the nearby Samhwasa Temple. Whether you’re seeking tranquility, healing, or a memorable family getaway, Mureung Health Forest might be the secret spot you need to find.
Feel free to skip around. Here’s what you can find in this post:
- How To Get To Mureung Health Forest
- Basic Information About The Health Facilities
- The Mureung Health Forest Facilities
- Explore Nearby Mureung Valley
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How To Get To Mureung Health Forest
Address: 455 Samhwa-ro, Donghae-si, Gangwon-do (강원 동해시 삼화로 455)
Basic Information About The Health Facilities
Accommodations: Available year round
Theme Experience Facilities: Including the sauna open from 7:00am ~ 11:00pm; Closed on Mondays
- Fees: Adults: W10,000; Children: W5,000
- Heat Therapy: W18,000 per person
Experience Programs: Available 9:00am ~ 6:00pm upon reservation only.
Oseonnyeotang Outdoor Pool: Open from July 10th to August 20th.
Website: www.forest.dh.go.kr
The Mureung Health Forest Facilities
Enter the health facilities and hotel via a pretty magical bridge that is beautiful by day and gives a glimpse out over the ravine coming down from the mountains and then visit again at night when the light show is on. From the bridge you can also see a beautiful Korean style pavilion that looks out over the ravine. Definitely make time to take a rest here and just enjoy the scenery. The grounds of the health facility are simple and let the mountains do most of the work with the views. It’s the scenery which really sells this area and you can see why.
The hotel and facilities are pretty expansive and there is plenty to do as well as some really beautiful sites to visit nearby with just a little walk. The Donghae Mureung Health Forest is operated by the city of Donghae and works to offer accommodation and healing programs at affordable prices.
There are rooms that house from 2 people up to 8 people and feature both Korean style sleeping rooms as well as Western options with beds. The rooms are actually designed and decorated using cypress, red clay, and sericite finishes which are safe and good for those that suffer from eczema or are sensitive to odors. Remember that everything here is about healing and wellness so just take it all in when you visit.
Since it’s supported by the local government, it’s also really budget friendly. While many places that claim to be wellness locations or health facilities can be a bit excessive in terms of price, this one isn’t and works to promote the healthy lifestyle to everyone.
The facility offers both single day programs as well as overnight programs. Donghae Mureung Health Forest offers a variety of customized programs, including “Family Atopic Dermatitis Healing Camp,” “Healthy Forest Camp,” and “Detox Program for Improving Daily Habits”. The program can include crafts like printing t-shirts or an eco bag, making pillows with cypress chips, creating air fresheners or aroma diffusers among other great family friendly crafts.
We did the stamping experience. It took my daughter some time to choose the colors, the stencils, and then print away. The rest of my team that was traveling with us chose to do the pillow with cypress chips. To be honest, while the pillow is probably useful and it does provide health benefits, the experience itself just entails you pouring the cypress chips into a pillow case and zipping it up so it wasn’t much of an experience in my opinion but you do get to walk away with a pillow.
One of the must have experiences, which I couldn’t do, but you should is the heat therapy. It costs a ton if you’re doing it in Seoul but is so affordable here. One of the members of our group has gone multiple times just for the heat therapy. It improves the immune system and involves you getting into a capsule-shaped therapy bed where heat rushes over the body.
A session takes 40 minutes but there are also other tests including an eczema diagnostic, stress tracking, and body fat monitor that are involved and add a bit of time. Nurses also provide customized health advice. They say the experiences takes an hour, but my teammates that did it said it took more like an hour and a half to two hours depending how much time it takes for the consultation with the nurse so be prepared for that.
The Sauna
Inside the sauna, the first place to visit is the changing room and shower room. Get ready. If you’re unsure what to do, here is a guide to a Korean bath house with some information you might find useful. Simply put though, change into your sauna clothes and head out into the open space, you’ll shower and bathe AFTER getting all sweaty. Don’t do it before.
Inside there are various rooms including the Salt Cave, Red Clay Sauna, Secricite Sauna, and Oxygen Healing Room. We especially enjoyed the Salt Cave which is made using Korean sundried salt. Take your time and rest in each room before returning to the shower room.
The Oxygen Healing Room was also quite great with massage chairs, pelvic exercise devices, a sonic wave workout machine, horse riding fitness machine, music therapy machine and 24-hour oxygen generators. I just sunk right into my massage chair. PS If you’ve got kids, not to worry, there’s also a kids play room inside where they can hang out if you head into the hotter rooms where they’d be very uncomfortable. It’s not a huge space, but there was plenty of relaxing rooms to choose from and saunas to take part in. Are you ready to get hot and sweaty in the name of health? It feels so so good so take advantage!
The Food
The cafeteria on the premises provides nutritious meals that include abalone rice porridge, millet rice, oven baked sweet potatoes, home made yogurt, and nuts. The meals were great and quite filling… just make sure you get there on time because you can’t rock up any time and eat when you feel like it. There was plenty to choose from and we all filled up for lunch, dinner, and a breakfast the next day.
Explore Nearby Mureung Valley
If you walk about 20 minutes up the road from the facility, you’ll come to a couple convenience stores and restaurants as well as the entrance to Mureung Valley. There’s a minimal fee of W2,000 for adults and just a short distance in you’ll find a beautiful ravine. Swim or dip your toes in the refreshing water coming off the mountain if you visit in the warmer months.
If it’s colder, walk up to visit Samhwasa Temple and enjoy the mountain foliage. I love soaking in the cool waters that come down from the mountains in the summer and sitting in a ravine on huge slabs of rock just makes me feel small and comfortable. It’s an absolutely beautiful area to find while you’re staying at the health facilities.
Also, note that if you need a convenience store or want to find a restaurant or cafe this is also the direction you’d want to head because lining the entrance to the valley are all of these amenities. We walked and it took about 15-20 minutes on foot from the health facilities with two younger kids but you can also just drive up if you want because there is a parking lot just outside the entrance of the valley. Walking is on par with the whole healthy stay though so why not try that?
Overall, we had a fantastic experience in the Mureung Valley and would definitely go back. It’s family friendly and has something for everyone from the weary to the adventurous. Look into this awesome wellness space if you’re looking to get out of Seoul soon.
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