A Guide to Korean Jjimjilbangs for Foreigners | Bathhouses in Korea

Last Updated on February 25, 2025 by Christine Kaaloa

Step-by-Step Guide to Korean Jjimjilbangs  for Foreigners 찜질방
24 Hour Spa Bathhouses in Korea

Jjimjilbangs are 24 hour bathhouses in Korea, that also have spa facilities that can make the bath house experience feel like Disneyland.  As the operating hours are 24 hours, you can also sleep at many of them.  However, there are things that Korean jjimjilbangs are and are not. Keep reading…

How to Enter a Korean Jjimjilbang

1. Pay the bathhouse admission fee

2. PIck up a smock and towels

3. Use your shoe locker key

4.  If you forget toiletries visit the spa counter/shop

Read 42 Things to Know about Korea

5. Store your belongings in your assigned locker

You have to enter a Korean Bathhouse… Naked?

General rule of thumb of bathhouses in Korea : you enter naked.

You’ll see showers, scrubbing stations and mineral bathing pools in these Korean jjimjilbangs. Some Korean spas even have outdoor mineral pools and yes, you will be naked there too!

But it’s not like this is Germany or Japan and Korean men and women are walking around bearing their flesh for the world to see!

Korean culture is very conservative. The bathing rooms of Korean spas are not co-ed.  Only the rest of the facilities are! This means you’re generally naked among your own sex of strangers.

As nude as you are, it’s very  non-sexual. Asians tend to have strong ties with family, so you’ll often see mothers scrubbing their children or grandmothers, scrubbing or being scrubbed by daughters. It’s a familial bonding area.

You can wear your underwear into the bathing area if you feel shy. But remember– this is not a pool area. It is where you soak to let your dead skin prune up so you can soap up and scrub down!

You can even hire an ajumma to scrub you down! Wait no, you don’t ask an ajumma next to you. That of course, would be rude unless you had a very familiar relationship.

Some Korean bathhouses have scrub down services in the same vein you might pay for a service in a Turkish or Moroccan hammam. (I actually paid for a scrub down service in Fes and to see your dead skin being shucked was incredible. My skin was so soft and clean afterwards. Highly recommend this!)

The Korean Bathhouse Ritual

Now that you’ve been familiarized with the Korean bathing and “naked” idea, lets get to the next step. What to do next?

It gets pretty wet in the bathing area. Take a drying towel and your Korean jjimjilbang toiletries with you and place them on the scrubbing station walls or cubby holes (if there are any). You’ll see Korean women bring baskets with their toiletries like shampoo, soap, scrubbing mit.

1. Do a light pre-shower with a soap and scrubber.

2. Visit the bathing pools and sample the different herbal waters (or Infrared light stations), which have health benefits.

3. Ready for a scrub?  Get your toiletries and take them to the scrubbing station, where you’ll see others sitting and scrubbing themselves down.  Koreans take scrub baths seriously and after your soaking, your dead skin will be ready for husking.  Don’t feel like a scrub, take a shower instead.

Many spas have an area with an ajumma, dressed in black lace underwear, who will scrub you down.   They look a little S&M but the service is pure innocence. You will lie on a table and she will pummel massage you and scrub you down, removing dead skin in chunks like in a Moroccan spa. This is an extra charge, usually starting from around 20,000 won.

4. Dry off with you towel and go to your locker to change into your smock.

Jjimjilbang Facilities in Korea: It feels like a spa amusement park

You’ll find various types of saunas and facilities.  Some have DVD rooms for entertainment, PC bangs, game rooms, gyms,  restaurants, Korean beauty salons, even golf courses.  Some spas offer beauty packages, ripe with massages, facial treatments. I even got a vagafacial or Korean vaginal steam treatment. It was kinda weird but apparently women in palace courts used to do them and it’s meant to help with painful menstrual periods… something like that (read about Dragon Hill Spa in Seoul).

I love the saunas- each jjimjilbang has their own specialties.   Watch my video to see some of the options.

There will also be a snack center where you can buy drinks and even snacks like patbingsu (depends on season), etc…  A popular drink is something that looks like a cross between an iced coffee and/or herbal tea. Koreans love to drink them at jjimjilbangs as much as they hard-boiled eggs.  I think this has to do with replenishing your body after the soaks and saunas.

Are there beds in bathhouses in Korea?

Korean floors (aka ondols) are often heated and it is a popular old school way of sleeping… on the floor. Yes, on the floor. In Korea and especially in the spas, a wooden block is your pillow and a mat or towel like blanket on the floor is your bed. Those you’ll find in a pile in the corner. Grab what you need.  Anywhere is game… community spaces like the social areas, the sauna rooms and some jjimjilbangs have actual rooms with beds.

At my favorite jjimjilbang in Seoul, I like sleeping in both, the charcoal room …and the bunk bed room (which was so blackout dark, I could easily lose track of time and oversleep into the day!) Not all jjimjilbangs have a room with bunk beds.

Whereas all of them have ondol floors!

Some spas have separate sleeping spaces for men and women.  There is also always a co-ed option too for couples and families who want to be together.

Basically, any floor or reclining chair real estate is open for sleeping.

On a particularly crowded night (usually weekends), it’s not uncommon to sleep right next to another person (I’d just watch out on the flailing arms). Some Koreans fall asleep in the saunas.

Korean Bathhouse Spa Frequently Asked Questions

Do they store your luggage for you at a Korean bathhouse?

Yes and no.  Depends on the jjimjilbang.

Jjimjilbangs are 24 hour spas, not hotels.  Some spas may accommodate you by putting it behind their desk. Others, if close to a transportation hub, might have a storage area, but don’t expect it to be in a secure room.  Koreans however, aren’t known to be big on theft, especially in public areas.

Is there WiFi or charging outlets?

Depends on the facilities.  At the very least, they’ll have a PC bang where you can use the internet via coin-operated computers.  Some places might have many outlets for guests to charge; others might have a limited few.  It’s best to bring a backup external charger to be safe.

What if I forgot to bring soap?

You’ll find the toiletries store in your locker room, fully equipped to sell all the common toiletries.

Prices are standard to dollar stores (and Korea has dollar stores!).

How do I buy things inside the spa?

The locker key that you’ll keep around your wrist has a computer chip in it that will act as a surrogate charge card.  You’ll tap it on the electronic pad near the register when you buy something and when you leave and return the key, the front desk will total your expenses.

How much does a Korean jjimjilbang cost?

Each spa charges different rates but they tend to rate around 6,000 won to 12,000 won. In the evenings, the rates raise to the higher end of that spectrum.  After 24 hours, if you’re still in the spa, you’ll need to pay the next day rate too.

Will Koreans in the spa stare at me if I’m a foreigner?

If you’re foreign, you’ll probably attract attention, naked or clothed. Korea, for a long time, was a homogenous country. While there’s been more exposure to foreigners, it’s still largely homogenous.

Overall,  Koreans tend to be more fascinated with foreigners than look upon them with negative feelings.

Read about Bathhouses in Korea & love motel experiences .

Can you enter a Korean spa if you have tattoos?

Things like tattoos and Brazillian waxes may turn heads as Korea is a conservative culture also and there is some stigma associated with these things,. especially tattoos.

You’ll find it similar to Japan in that tattoos can be associated with mafia types. However, tattoos are becoming a little more common in Korean culture and this doesn’t stop foreigners with tattoos from enjoying these spas.

Top Jjimjilbangs in Seoul to give it a try

1. Dragon Hill Spa (website) is one of the most popular jjimjilbangs in Seoul, offering a wide range of saunas, hot tubs, and relaxation areas. Its facilities are well-maintained and hygienic, and visitors love the variety of amenities, including a movie theater, arcade, and rooftop garden.
2. Siloam Sauna (Jung-gu, Seoul) (website) is famous for its traditional Korean bathhouse experience, featuring different themed saunas and pools. It’s known for its herapeutic hot baths.
3. Spa Lei (Mapo-gu, Seoul)  Spa Lei is renowned for being a women-only bathhouse. Located in Gangnam. It offers an infra red sauna, saunas, and DVD room and offers a top experience in Seoul.

Looking for the best spa hotels in Seoul, then check this list.