The Korean Bath House: The Etiquette Inside A Jjimjilbang

Korean bath houses are one of those topics that come up in conversation and it seems while there is high interest, most foreigners that come to Korea just don’t know what to expect and only have visions of sitting around naked and uncomfortable with a lot of people. Sure, there’s nudity in a Korean jjimjilbang (찜질방) but that’s not the only thing that happens in a Korean spa.

I’ve visited a mokyoktang, or neighborhood bath house, a number of times and also been to more high-end one time experience Korean spas that are perfect for tourists. Both have their purposes and are equally essential for a good beauty ritual if you ask me.

From young children to grandparents, all Koreans visit a bath house either on a regular basis or as a special event, but they go and you should too. Get ready to learn about the Korean bath house, what to do, what not to do, and how to fit in.

Trying to ready yourself for your first Korean sauna experience? Wondering what to expect?

• What is a Korean bath house?
  • What’s the difference between a mokyoktang and a jjimjilbang?
• Jjimjilbangs In Korea To Find
  • In Seoul
  • Outside of Seoul
• What To Do When In A Jjimjilbang OR Mokyoktang
  • Step 1: Pay & Grab a Key/Towels
  • Step 2: Get Naked.. Or Not!
  • Step 3: Get Hot Hot Hot!
  • Step 4: Now You Definitely Need To Get Naked
  • Step 5: Find A Free Shower Head
  • Step 6: Cursory Cleaning
  • Step 7: Soak It Up! (For at least 30 minutes)
  • Step 8: Exfoliation
  • Step 9: Soak, Sauna, Repeat
• Vocabulary for the jjimjilbang/mokyoktang experience

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If you’re heading to Korea, or live here, and want to experience the Korean spa, there’s kind of a lot to know before you go. I remember my first time being a bit overwhelming and I could tell the locals around me had a clear idea of what should be first, second, and third in terms of what to do in the pools but I was going from here to there willy nilly. Don’t be like me. Know what’s about to happen and what to expect in the Korean jjimjilbang.

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What is a Korean bath house?

A bath house is like a spa that has various pools of heated water, saunas, and massage, exfoliation opportunities and sometimes even more than that. You can sleep in some. You can spend all day in some and do everything from exercise to eat lunch and even watch movies.

There are two different kinds of bath houses – mokyoktangs and jjimjilbangs. As a tourist, or foreign visitor, most people want to look for the jjimjilbangs. If you want to visit a bath house regularly, there are mokyoktangs in every neighborhood.

What’s the difference between a mokyoktang and a jjimjilbang?

목욕탕 (Mokyoktang) – Bathing Areas

The mokyoktang is probably the area that brings on the most feelings of discomfort at first. This is where you’ll get naked but once you get over that first bit of insecurity and look around, you quickly realize everyone is naked, we’ve all got the same parts and no one is really looking anyway.

To be honest, I have fairly large tattoos down the sides of my ribs so I get stared at a fair bit, but I quickly realized they weren’t staring at my body, they were staring at my tats. If you’ve got nothing to see, no one will even look.

This area has hot water baths, cold water baths, showers and may or may not also have people on staff there to exfoliate your every nook and cranny… if you want them to. Mokyoktangs are NOT unisex but are separated for male and female use.

Neighborhood bath houses are also frequented by the same people week in and week out so there is a lot of socializing inside as well with neighbors gossiping and sharing news of the day. You might even learn some Korean if you visit often enough.

찜질방 (Jjimjilbang) – Coed saunas

It’s important to realize that a place that is a jjimjilbang will have a mokyoktang as well as coed saunas and relaxation areas. A location that has a sign that reads mokyoktang on the exterior on the other hand, does NOT have a jjimjilbang area and is JUST the bathing house.

If you’re uncomfortable with the idea of being nude, then look for the jjimjilbang in the area to gradually work your way up. Jjimjilbangs will be a bit larger and offer a bit more in the way of treatments, massages and so on usually as well. They may also have exercise rooms and more so you could spend the whole day working out and relaxing if you wanted to.

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Jjimjilbangs In Korea To Find

There are neighborhood jjimjilbangs and then there are some that are a bit more of an experience. There are a few places that you can visit and be assured there have been plenty of foreigners before you and so the staff is ready for you.

If you want to go upscale, most hotels also have a Korean style spa area. Many of them, like the spa at Signiel Hotel, are only open for adults though, so do be aware if you have children.

If you’re just looking for that special one-time experience to write home about, here are some places you should look into.

In Seoul

Aquafield (아쿠아필드): Aquafield is wonderful from an aesthetic appeal down to what they offer. Its a more modern and luxurious sauna and spa. Aquafield has multiple locations, but they’re all upscale. We’ve been to one and definitely recommend the brand. You can find them in Goyang, Hanam, Anseong, and I think there are a few others as well.

• Booking: You can get discounted entrance tickets on Klook or on kkday.

Dongdaemun SPAREX: A good option if you’re staying in the Dongdaemun area as it’s right across the street from the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, SPAREX is fun because they have super traditional vibes inside. Because of its location, don’t be surprised that there are a lot of foreigners here so you can fit right in.

• Address: 247 Jangchungdan, Jung-gu, Seoul (서울시 중구 장충단 247)
• Hours: 24 hours a day, every day

Traditional Oriental Forest Land (숲속한방랜드): This popular bath house sits at the foot of Ansan Mountain in Seoul near the beautiful Bongwonsa Temple and is a traditional space with hot baths, saunas, and scrubs. Sit in the outdoor garden and take in the beautiful mountain views before soaking, steaming, and scrubbing.

• Address: 75-7 Bongwonsa-gil, Bongwon-dong, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul (서울시 서대문구 봉원동 봉원사길 75-7)
• Hours: Every day: 6:30am ~ 10:00pm

Outside of Seoul

Spa Land Centum City: If you’ll be headed to Busan, then definitely visit the amazing Spa Land Centum City. It is one of the biggest and best jjimjilbangs in Korea. I’ve been and can attest that it is pretty amazing and you should plan to spend at least half of your day there if not more relaxing and refreshing.

• Booking: You can get discounted tickets in advance on Klook or on kkday.

Donghae Mureung Health Forest: This doesn’t have all of the various baths but has numerous sauna spaces including a salt cave and promotes health and healing and is one of the top wellness locations promoted by the Korean Tourism Organization.

Healience Seonmaeul: Healience is a wellness destination in Korea where you can have an Internet detox, walk in the forest, take yoga classes and they also have a lovely jjimjilbang with a sauna and spa on the premises to check out. A beautiful place to visit.

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What To Do When In A Jjimjilbang OR Mokyoktang

Step 1: Pay & Grab a Key/Towels

When you head in, you’ll pay a standard fee for using the area and likely be given a key on a rubber bracelet that will go to a locker inside where you can store all of your belongings. Don’t lose your key! It’s on a bracelet for a reason. Put it on that wrist and have fun.

The reception will also hand you a towel and if it’s a jjimjilbang, they’ll hand you shorts and a tee to wear inside the hot spaces. If it’s a mokyoktang, they won’t hand you any clothing because you won’t wear any inside.

Once you’re inside, if you want to get treatments, massages or other experiences done, staff will simply record down your locker number and you’ll pay on departure. Convenient, isn’t it?

Step 2: Get Naked.. Or Not!

Here’s where it’s important to know what you’ve gone into. If you’re entering a jjimjilbang which also features a shower room or bath house, you’ll want to do all of the hot saunas first. You do NOT need to shower before you head into the saunas.

Change into the shorts and shirts provided and then find the door to head into the coed area with the saunas. If you’ve headed into a mokyoktang or won’t be visiting the various sauna spaces, then skip down to Step 4 to continue on.

Step 3: Get Hot Hot Hot!

Depending how many different rooms there are, you could go into various sauna spaces and relaxation rooms and spend hours there. If it’s a smaller local spot, you’ll probably just go into the one sauna room. You should try to spend at least 15 minutes inside but you could spend a lot more time.

If you head to a much larger one like Busan’s Spa Land, the premier Korean spa experience in Korea, you could spend hours. Located in the largest Shinsegae Department Store in the world, this spa features 13 unique saunas and 18 different hot springs.

It’s huge and fun and the perfect more chic experience if you’ll have just one. But local smaller ones are great if you want a quick experience and want to do it more like the locals.

Step 4: Now You Definitely Need To Get Naked

After undressing and storing your belongings as well as the towels you received in your locker, you’ll go in. Don’t forget to take all of your shampoos, soaps and other products that you’d like to use.

Often in neighborhoods, you’ll see people headed into a bathing house with a little caddy with all of their showering implements.

You can also buy monthly memberships and if you do, you’d just leave your caddy of supplies in a locker inside ready whenever you’re there. Dressing rooms often have staff tidying things up and keeping track of who is getting scrubbed when and who is getting drinks and eggs from the fridge.

Find the woman NOT getting undressed and ask her if you’d like to get a scrub later so she can get you a time slot.

Step 5: Find A Free Shower Head

Inside the shower room, look around to find an open shower area. There are NOT shower stalls but lots of showers lining the walls and everyone claims one by placing their caddy of goods in front of the shower heads. You might see shower heads and caddies but no one showering, that means the person is somewhere soaking. That’s fine to do.

Find an empty showerhead, grab a stool and set up shop. Why do I say grab a stool? You may notice that these shower heads are lower than you might expect. Most women can be seen sitting while they shower. There will probably be stand up showers somewhere, but far more sit down options and just one or two stand up full body rinsing stations.

Step 6: Cursory Cleaning

Before heading into the hot tubs, cold tubs or doing anything else, make sure you lather up and clean yourself. The tubs are for clean bodies only. After cleaning, if you have long hair, put it up in a bun or in a towel so it doesn’t clog up the baths as well.

If you don’t do this step, you will most assuredly get some stares and possibly an older Korean woman coming over to tell you to clean yourself first. If someone does, they’re not being rude, but there is definitely etiquette in the bathhouse.

Step 7: Soak It Up! (For at least 30 minutes)

Now you’re ready to get into the tubs. There are often hot tubs of varying degrees as well as cooler tubs. There may be herbal pools and other things going on as well. If you’re looking to get exfoliated, it’s optimal to soak in the hot tubs for a bit before heading on to anything else. You may also find little kids in the tubs.

My husband has said the mokyoktang is sort of like the poor mans swimming pool in a sense or was when he was little anyway. Children are free at many neighborhood bath houses and when he was little, he’d head in with friends to swim in the cooler baths. You will often see little children with their mothers or grandmothers swimming and splashing around enjoying the water while their elders are bathing.

Don’t be surprised to see little boys in the women’s bath house either. There is a certain age when they’ll head to the men’s shower room but when they’re little, they often stay with their mothers. If you want to stay away from the little ones and relax, head into the hotter baths as the little ones tend to stay in the cooler ones.

Step 8: Exfoliation

This step is, of course, optional, but I highly recommend taking advantage of the scrubbing stations. The feeling of seeing so much dead skin taken off by the must use Korean Italy towel is oddly gratifying and you will be so so soft afterward. The ladies that are scrubbing are easy to spot as they’re the only ones walking around in underwear in the bath house.

The station will look like a massage table that has been covered in linoleum or plastic. You lay on it naked and the scrubbing staff member will scrub just your back, your entire body and may include a facial and oils as well. According to my husband, this can vary depending on who is working and what they usually do. It can cost anywhere between $20 and $45.

My recent experience was $25 and included a cucumber facial, oils and a peach scrub at the very end as well. It was FANTASTIC!

The full body scrub is really the biggest reason I think everyone should experience a Korean jjimjilbang. Once you’ve had your entire body exfoliated and realize how much softer your skin can be, literally baby soft, you’ll understand.

Step 9: Soak, Sauna, Repeat

After getting scrubbed, rinse off and feel free to soak for a bit longer, head into the sauna rooms and take advantage of the other relaxation areas that may or may not include saunas of varying degrees, dry saunas, ice rooms, salt rooms and more.

At my in-laws mokyoktang, there are two larger pools of water, one cool and one hot and two medium size even hotter pools and then smaller cooler pools too. There is a wet sauna room and then there is a dry sauna room.

This is a pretty basic but mokyoktang set-up and is not really for tourists but for the locals in the area though tourists and foreigners are of course always welcome.

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Vocabulary for the jjimjilbang/mokyoktang experience

구운계란 – Sauna Eggs: Sauna eggs are hard boiled eggs that have been cooked slowly for a long period of time with steam. The outside shells turn brown and the eggs are a bit more rubbery than what you probably cook at home.

식초 – Sikcho Vinegar drinks: These drinks are supposed to be good for digestion and the intestinal tract system. They are diluted so it’s not like you’re just drinking vinegar and will come in fruity flavors like persimmon, pomegranate and blackberry.

식혀 – Sikhye Sweet Rice Drink: Also helping with digestion, this drink is made by pouring malt water over cooked rice and then boiled. It’s a bit sweet and is often served after meals at restaurants as well.

세신 (Seshin) – Full Body Scrub: If you want that full body scrub, just ask the “room manager” as I mentioned before who can let you know when an appropriate time would be available for you.

Below you’ll find some rooms that you may or may not see at a jjimjilbang:

• 참숯불가마 – Charcoal Room
• 아이스방 – Ice Room
• 소금방 – Salt Room
• 자갈방 – Pebble Room
• 산소 토굴방 – Oxygen Room
• 옥 한증막 – Jade Sweating Room

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For some humorous tales about jjimjilbang experiences, check out Around The World in KT Days and her awesome post The Naked Truth Tales From the Jjimjilbang.

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