A first visit to a Korean spa

A jjimjilbang or Korean spa club is several floors. Wet baths are often separated. The dry sauna floor is usually mixed, and you wear a provided uniform. There are salt rooms, clay rooms, charcoal rooms, an ice room, and a floor of heated stone where people sleep.

Plan three hours. An hour is a tour. The good part starts after you have been hot, cold, and hungry.

Shower before anything else. Use the wet baths if you want them. Change into the uniform for the kiln rooms. Start with the mildest room, not the one with the longest name. Cool down in the cold pool. Eat. The restaurants inside these buildings are part of the visit, not a concession.

Saturday afternoon is the social version. Weekday late morning is the quiet version. The city pages on this site call out the busy window when the hourly data supports it.

Most of these clubs sell a day pass and charge extra for scrubs or private rooms. Scrubs are optional. Tipping culture varies by club. Phones usually stay in the locker. If a listing here has no price, we have not verified one.