Jjimjilbang and Saunas in Korea

Seoul, Dongdaemoon - Haevitch (Havitz) Spa World

2012-08-25T10:26:00.002+09:00

Guest reviewer: Cami

This spa is on the 12th floor of the Cerestar building in Dongdaemun, right behind the Migliore building. Exit Dongdaemun station at exit 8, and walk towards the Migliore building. The signs are hard to miss. It is just 7,000 w to get in and comes with jimjilbang clothes.

Haevitch Spa World is a brand new place, very modern and clean. The whole facility is one floor, and has a Korean restaurant, snack bar, noodle restaurant, noraebang, PC room, small sleeping room with beds, small workout area with treadmills, men's and women's baths, and a jimjilbang area. The baths are nothing to write home about- just warm, hot and event, 2 small cold pools, and a steam room that is super-hot. The woman working behind the counter in the women's bath speaks limited English and is very nice and helpful. It is brand new and very clean, but quite small. One interesting thing in the baths are the skin-scrubbing ladies...they are wearing...wait for it...printed bras and panties! I saw red, pink, animal print! It was wild and crazy since normally its always plain black everywhere you go around the country.

While the baths are pretty small, the awesome thing about Spa Haevitch is the incredible view from the main jimjilbang room. It looks out over Chong-gyae-cheon stream, the fabric market, all the way up to the mountains up north. The workout room also has this great view. In the jimjilbang area are a bulgama room (pine wood), a charcoal room, a salt room (the hottest), an ice room, a gold room, and some sleeping caves and a wood room that is room temperature. To me, the jimjilbangs are not quite hot enough, but they are very clean and smell great. The main room is the best part though, try to score a mat by the windows and you can lay around checking out the view. I've been on a Friday night and Saturday afternoon, and it was not crowded and there were few children other than mine. There is a very small game room, but my kids just loved gazing out the window and trying all the nice jimjilbang rooms since they weren't too hot. The restaurant has your usual Korean fare, but also samgaetang (chicken soup) which I haven't seen at a spa before.

I highly recommend this place as a spot to warm up and relax after a hard day of shopping in Dongdaemun's many markets and department stores, or as a place to crash in the wee hours if you are out in Dongdaemun doing midnight shopping.

Spa Website (Korean only)

Wikimapia of Haevitch Spa World (in the Freya Tower marked on this map)

Visit Korea site on Havitz Spa World

Seoul, Sinchon - Sinchon Rest

2012-08-25T09:31:00.000+09:00

Sinchon Rest has a very old feel to it. For some reason they don't give the women keys at the desk, but the give the men some. Instead you go in, find a locker, and grab the key from the locker. The wet area had an assortment of standing and sitting showers. There were two saunas, one stone and one wood. For bathes there was a hot, a hotter, and a freezing.

In terms of sleeping this jjimjilbang is amazing, especially for women. There were sleeping areas right there in the wet area if you didn't feel comfortable going to the mixed area to sleep. The sleeping room was on the fourth floor and had a large mixed area, as well as a glassed off area with bunks for women only. There was a small room just for men on the floor below next to the gym and nail/hair salon.

They had four of the dome shaped saunas in the mixed area. Two were open and not hot at all, while the other two were likely to scorch your skin off, nothing in between. The ice room was very nice though and actually had a window to the street, though it wasn't much of a view.

The restaurant only served the most basic of dishes, but was open twenty-four hours and they had a wide assortment of beverages, even beer.

My complaints with the place:

There were very, very few mats, despite the abundance of pillows.

There was no vendor or even a vending machine in the wet area to buy shampoo or anything else you forgot.

The place was rather old and a little rundown in places.

The bath area was very basic and the pools left a lot to be desired.

My Conclusion:

I'd stay there to sleep, but I'd make sure to bring anything I might need to shower, and I wouldn't look to stay there for just relaxing.

If you're female, this is probably one of the best places you can stay without a worry about an overly friendly ahjussi.

Directions, as far as I can tell from the map: From Sinchon subway station, go out of Exit 3. Walk north along Yonsei-ro towards Yonsei University, turn right at the Paris Baguette, and you should find it near (across from?) the GS25.

Google Map of Jjimjilbang (Click on Sinchon Rest in left hand column)

Written by guest reviewer: Caitlin

Gyeong-nam, Tongyeong, Hangnam-dong - Tongyeong Haesu Land

2012-03-22T23:19:00.001+09:00

This is a large jjimjilbang and sauna right on the harbor (Western, Seoho-man, just off Jungang-ro Street) in Tongyeong. If you are near the market and the replica of the turtle boat, it is right there. I'm sorry I haven't got more specific directions, but there's a wikimapia to help! I went on a Saturday around 1 pm, but it was not crowded at all and pretty quiet. The only busy part of the place was exercise classes going on on the floor with the weight room.

The baths are pretty typical, hot, warm, event (maybe green tea? I'm sure it changes), and some laying-down small baths that weren't filled when I went. One nice feature is the cold seawater bath, it runs the length of the room, right against huge windows overlooking the harbor, so the view is great. There are also some steam rooms and saunas. Its an older building, and also this being way off the tourist track, there are many people washing their underwear or spitting in the drains, something you don't seem to see in the city saunas. That said, this sauna does have a more "authentic" feel than the big touristy places like Dragon Hill- it is very relaxed and small-town feeling.

The jjimjilbang is nice, with a large wooden floored area to relax, and a salt room, some warm rooms, no sleeping areas dedicated to that but its dark and quiet so its easy to sleep anywhere. I fell asleep for 3-4 hours and I have a tough time sleeping anywhere usually, let alone in public. There is a restaurant with your average Korean fare, and a weight room and workout floor that looked very well-supplied. Another neat feature is the roof-top foot massage walk, its a trail of spiky rocks and things to massage your feet. It has a great view of the harbor, though I am not too sure about the health benefits to feet, it hurts!

I saw many jjimjilbangs in Tongyeong and there may be better ones out there, but Haesu Land is a nice place to spend some hours if you are waiting for the ferry to one of the outlying islands. it is maybe a 10 minute walk from Haesu Land to the ferry terminal.

*Fun fact! When I googled Tongyeong Haesu Land (in a vain search for photos), it comes up as a wi-fi hotspot on the GlobalRoaming website! :)

117-5, Hangnam-dong, Tongyeong-si, Gyeongsangnam-do
Open 24 Hours

RATES:

Jjimjilbang 10,000 won

Sauna only ~7,000 won

Wikimapia of Tongyeong Haesu Land

Gangwon-do, Sokcho - Cheoksan Hot Springs

2012-03-12T07:37:00.001+09:00

Guest Reviewer: Cami

Cheoksan Hot Springs - English Site

This is a hot springs outside of Seoraksan National Park located in the basement of a hotel with the same name. There is no jjimjilbang – only the segregated hot springs baths – so you get only towels and not jjimjilbang clothes.

The locker rooms are the standard and there are some snacks and drinks available but no restaurant since there’s one upstairs in the hotel. There is a skin-scrubbing area inside the baths, but no massages or other services unless perhaps they are somewhere else.

Inside the baths, there is a large seated shower area but only a few standing showers. The water is nice; it is easy to tell the difference between "regular" water and hot springs water once you've been to a few saunas and hot springs. There is a hot bath, a hinoki bath, some massage baths, a warm/kids bath, a cold bath and a cold waterfall bath, a steam room, some saunas and a small heated floor area to rest. It’s clean, and the water is really nice feeling! However, there is not a lot to do here except soak, so this is not an all-day type destination like a big jjimjilbang would be. There are also not likely to be many, or any, foreigners, at this place. It was only us when we went.

*I visited this sauna with 4 girls, ages 8-13, my daughters and 2 friends. All have been to Korean saunas before and are very well-behaved children. I would *not* recommend this place with children, unless you are Korean, as we had the only bad sauna experience we've ever had here. It started when we came in, the attendant in the locker room pointed to a sign (in English) that said this was an "Oriental bath", and no clothes were worn. I assured her (in Korean) that we already knew and had visited many spas before. She looked dubious and, frankly, grouchy as hell. We went into the baths, and showered, and there was a sign to put up our hair (in Korean), so we all did so before getting in the baths. The girls spent most of their time in the warm bath in the corner, playing and floating together. There were a number of Korean children in this bath, including 2 little girls with long, long hair not put up at all. One of my daughters’ hair started to fall out of the bun it was in, into a pony tail, and the locker room attendant came in and yelled at us! All while the little girls with waist-length hair were playing right there next to her, in the same tub. Then later my girls and their 2 friends were playing with the white plastic buckets, floating them in the warm pool back and forth. Right next to them, Korean children had the same white buckets and were filling them and dumping them over the side (my girls were doing this too at first but I made them stop as it wastes water). Locker lady comes storming in again, takes their buckets away, and says nothing to the Korean children running past her, hair flying, with buckets of water. At that point, I was done- we had been there maybe 2 hours and the locker attendant spent most of that time peering in the doors at us, standing next to whatever tub we were in staring at us, it was very unpleasant. I don't know if she's had bad experiences with foreigners before or what, but it really soured me on this place.

To get here: From Sokcho intercity bus terminal, you could just take a taxi. If you say Seokcho Oncheon, it will be around 5,000 won, about 6 km/15 min.
By city bus is a little trickier from the bus terminal - it's best if you are on the north side of Sokcho, near City Hall. The link below for Korea wikia on this area states that you can take bus 3 or 3-1 from Sokcho. I found info on both #3 and 3-1, which pass by the Sokcho Ferry Terminal/East Sea port, City Hall, and Dongwoo University on their way to the Cheoksan Hot Springs.

강원 속초시 노학동
Gangwon-do, Sokcho-si, Nohak-dong
033-636-4222
Open 5:30 am ~ 9:00 pm *NOT 24 hours!

Wikimapia of Cheoksan Hot Springs*
Very few details are available for this listing yet, and the satellite image is a terrible, cloudy one so far. Let's hope a new one will be available sometime soon!

Some additional links to keep you busy:
Travelguide South Korea - post on Sokcho Beach Area
Korea's Wikia on Two Cheoksan Area Hot Springs

Big News for the Blog

2012-03-12T06:16:00.002+09:00

Well, hello again everyone! I have great news: I have recently been blessed with the attention of one lovely reader and fellow sauna-phile, Cami. She has been emailing me reviews of places which she and her daughters visited and I've slowly been putting them together into posts for you to enjoy.

Her well-written reviews come at a very auspicious time for me because I no longer live in Korea. That’s right – double big news. As of December 2011 I am back to being a resident Minnesotan and must work on finding guest reviewers to keep my site alive in the coming years. I will also be able to research and post about places I hear of or which have great websites/online presence, but for those tiny secret places, I will look to you... and Cami! Her first post on Cheoksan Hot Springs is forthcoming – enjoy!

Jeonju, Joonghwasan-dong, Hyoja Bridge – Spa LaQua

2012-01-27T02:00:00.000+09:00

Wow. I will have a lot of words for this Spa, and “wow” is a good place to start. Firstly, it’s hard to get to by bus. I would not really recommend that since Jeonju is so small anyway. I just took a taxi from the Gaeksa Area (main old downtown, not far from Hanok Village and the fun walking streets). If you cab it, just say “Hyoja da-ri, Gwang-jin Het-bi-chan Apart” and get out near building #101 (효자다리, 광진햇비찬 아파트 101동). I know that's not easy, but it will be well worth it. You can’t miss the giant orange rectangular building on your right from there!

Once you get inside, you can tell it’s a nice place from the carpeted stairs that lead you up to the sauna areas on the second floor. Plus, for your 9-10,000 won you’ll receive a little tote bag with the jjimjilbang outfit and THREE towels! (Guys often have unlimited towels inside the sauna but us women usually only get 1 or 2.) Plus, notice that one of the towels is plush and large enough to mostly wrap around you! This is a novelty here in Korea – it’s the little things, sometimes, isn’t it?

There are typical lockers and counters inside and you’ll head back down to the first floor to bathe. In the women’s spa I found a lovely area with deep baths and lots of showers. At least 20 standing and even more sitting showers, and they seem well-maintained; I never had a problem with the water pressure or temperature. The hot and warm baths are nice, then there’s a little cove with a really cold tub and a nice cool one (~25 deg.C). The cool tub is over a meter deep and has several different massaging bays as well as 2 waterfall massagers. (Watch out, they’re strong!) There’s a little place to lie down and enjoy the heat, and 2 sauna rooms – one Elvan and stone hot room and one hot humid Hinoki wooden room. The special thing about the Hinoki sauna room is there’s a little tub there too! Finally, there is an open-air bath – a simple, stone pond around 40 degrees with a slatted roof and wooden walls. The perfect place to relax on a cool sunny day!

In the jjimjilbang, there is the normal restaurant, PC room, relaxing areas, singing booths… well, that’s about where the normality ends. Just out from the saunas on the 2^nd floor is a beautiful wine and coffee bar (no wine was listed on the menu though…?), bookshelves, and a pool table. The entrance for the health club is here near the sauna as well. Then upstairs is the restaurant and entertainment area (complete with an air-hockey table!) which features colorful paper lamps and entirely Western table-chair seating. At the far end is the GX room where spa patrons and health club members alike can participate in yoga or aerobics classes each morning and evening. Did I mention you can pay for everything with your key bracelet? Yes, even swipe it at the PC room for internet time!

Out in the main area, it’s very sunny and they provide many beds to relax on (similar to those in Shinsegae’s SpaLand) around the traditionally decorated pagodas. The jjimjil rooms available on this 3^rd-4^th floor area include a salt-light room with hot floor, Hinoki dry sauna, cool room and warm tiled anion room (both so similar to SpaLand it’s shocking), a small sleeping room for men & women mixed, and near the roof entrance an Elvan “body sweating” room. Up on the roof, the swimming pool wasn’t filled for my visit, but I did enjoy a small foot bath in the sunlight.

All in all, I love this spa. If I lived in Jeonju, this is certainly where I’d go to relax and recommend my friends to stay over. If you are visiting Jeonju, it’s not to be missed. The décor is so fittingly matched to the traditional slow-city way of life here that you can’t help but feel at ease. My only complaints (there’s no PERFECT spa, is there?) are that the sun-room main area can be pretty echo-ey and noisy at times; depending on who’s at the spa during your stay you might not have the quietest jjimjil experience ever. (This is compounded by the fact that the sleeping room has merely thin shades to wall it off from the main area and any of the smaller specialty rooms are too warm really to sleep in.) Also, in the baths, the water level was a bit low I think which resulted in a not-very-calming sucking sound from the filter/drain on some tubs.

Considering everything I give this place 9/10. That’s pretty good coming from me!

스파라쿠아
전북 전주시 완산구 중화산동2가 784-1
Jeollabuk-do, Jeonju, Wonsan-gu Joonghwasan-dong 2, 784-1
063-223-0020
Open 24 Hours

Rates:
Day hours: enter 4AM to 6PM
Adults 9,000 Children 6,000

Overnight: enter 6PM to 4AM
Adults 10,000 Children 7,000

There is an extra charge for going to the "creek," maybe meaning the pool? And they offer monthly memberships and group discounts.

Wikimapia of Spa LaQua

Seoul, Gu-eui dong - Gangbyun (Riverside) SpaLand

2012-01-26T15:47:00.000+09:00

After reviewing a post and comments from you lovely readers I found a new 24-hour jjimjilbang not far from the Jayang-dong Happy Day Spa. This new find is called Riverside SpaLand (강변스파랜드) and gets 10 stars on Daum, but only 5/10 on Naver. You can find it just behind the East-Seoul intercity bus terminal (동서울 종합터미날), out exit 4 from Gangbyun Station. From the looks of the building it seems like a nice, large facility. The jjimjilbang shares the building with Sungjin Leisure Sports health facility. Check out the Official Site of Korea Tourism's page about Riverside SpaLand as well.

It encompasses 7 floors with a roof-top area to cool off or catch some rays this summer. In the sauna are the usual hot, warm, cool, and event baths, along with a hinoki wood bath and a walking-track/massage bath. Add two sweating rooms - humid and dry - and you've got a complete sauna. In their jjimjilbang, there are many interesting rooms. There are two traditional Korean sweating caves, one of which is made from wood; first time I've seen this. Then your usual salt, yellow soil (hwangto), and charcoal rooms, pine room, silver pyramid, fresh oxygen room, and an ice igloo. Oh, and my favorite: sleeping caves! With these and all the rest area, you'll have plenty to keep you occupied for the day.

On other floors you can find the restaurant and snack corner, PC room, books, playroom, movie room, sports massage and nail art. Full facilities in addition to the health club make this a great jjimjilbang on paper. I haven't been there yet so if any of you are able to visit, please come back here to post your ratings and reviews. Thank you!

서울 광진구 구의동 593-15
Seoul, Gwangjin gu, Gu-eui dong, 593-15
02-444-2349
Open 24 Hours

Rates:
Day hours: 5AM to 8PM
Adults 7,000 Children* 5,000

Overnight: 8PM to 5AM
Adults 9,000 Children 6,000
*Children under 7 (Entrance is for 12 hours, 1,000 won per hour after. But if you stay past 15 hours you'll be charged a flat rate of 7,000 for the time beyond 12 hrs.)

Wikimapia of Riverside SpaLand

Jeonju, Deokjin-dong, Jeonbuk University - Lespia Sauna

2011-11-12T11:45:00.001+09:00

This sauna didn’t look like much from Daum Maps’ street view, nor did it when I walked up the street in person, but it’s in a great location just off tons of bus lines and on the skirts of the busy, popular Jeonbuk University area. So I thought I’d give it a try~ and I’m glad I did! It turns out it’s a nice, neighborhood jjimjilbang with friendly staff and quiet weeknights.

The sauna has the usual hot, warm and cold tubs, the cold one featuring a fountain and waterfall massage jets. You can also heat up in the Finnish dry sauna or the salt-Jade humid sauna room (cooler of the two, but owing to the humidity it feels super hot!). There are about 10 standing showers and tons of sitting ones, and it seems if you are a member of this sauna you can keep your things in a small locker under the larger ones for daily use.

I came in pretty late to the jjimjilbang so I didn’t try out the restaurant or snack bar, but I did look around the rooms. There are gender-segregated sleeping rooms, a CO2/fresh air room also well-suited to sleeping, and the usual warm yellow-soil room, ice room, hot salt cave, and a PC room. All areas are nicely made up and clean, and dimly lit, at least at night. I found tons of mats and pillows and cuddled up in the women’s sleeping area before an old woman told me about the blankets. I’m glad she talked me into getting two since it actually was pretty cool in there. (You’d be fine with one, but I made a bed out of mine! Plus in the morning I noticed a sign that a second blanket is usually 500 won extra but he must not have wanted to deal with me and this old lady at 11pm!)

Anyway, Lespia Sauna is overall a nice place to spend the night if you happen to be around Jeonbuk Daehakyo (University) or the nearby Deokjin Park.

Open 24 Hours

RATES:
~4,000 for children
~7,000 for adults

전북 전주시 덕진구 덕진동1가 1277-2번지
Jeollabuk-do, Jeonju, Deokjin-gu, Deokjin-dong 1, 1277-2
063-271-0285

Wikimapia of Lespia Sauna

Donghae, Chun-gok-dong - Hwajungwon Sauna

2011-09-23T17:18:00.002+09:00

The weather in Ulleung Island turned rough and I had a hard time getting a boat back to the mainland. All the ships were canceled on Monday which caused a slight backup in the number of people leaving on Tuesday, and on top of all this Wednesday, being the last day of the holiday, was booked full. I chose to depart the island to a different city than where I arrived from (in lieu of staying an extra 2-3 days) and that's how I wound up in Donghae... thankfully!

Friends I met on the island had heard about a great 24-hour jjimjilbang and they thought it wasn't too far from the Mukho Ferry Terminal. About halfway between Donghae and Mukho railway stations in Gangwondo, I found the spa that had been recommended to me - Hwajungwon. Firstly, I wasn't even sure of the name and my taxi driver immediately knew what sauna I wanted - large, well-known in the city, I had started out well. Secondly, upon arriving I could tell this place had it all. It boasts a fitness center with yoga, "Wellness Center" and has a large exposed bulgama sweating cave right in the front. So even before going in I knew I'd love this place.

Within the bathing area there are several dry/humid sauna rooms, one round wooden room called the Finland Sauna and another Germanium Sauna (a type of metalloid said to benefit the immune system and combat bacteria). Typical hot, warm and cool baths and shower areas are also here of course. When I was there, this waterfall bath was turned off (but it was later in the evening afterall).

In the jjimjilbang, there's the usual yellow soil, charcoal, ice, lucky stone (geode) rooms, in addition to the large bulgama (fire-pot) sweating cave and another Gemanium room. This bulgama is one of the most traditional ones I've seen lately - it has 2 tiny doors to climb through and several warnings against entering if you have any health concerns. It is VERY hot in here, you've been warned!

Other facilities include men's and women's sleeping rooms, a restaurant, cafe, PC room, singing room, kids play area, sports massage and a hair shop. You can pay for everything inside with your key so you don't need to worry about losing any cash while you're there. Overall, this is a really great place to spend the day or stay the night.

The sports center has a full line of treadmills, spinning bikes, weight training machines, and free weights, and it seems they offer stretching yoga, dance, and spinning classes (probably in response to demand).

Hwajungwon Sauna
강원 동해시 천곡동 878
Gangwon-do, Donghae, Chun-gok-dong 878
033-533-8605
Open 24 Hours

COSTS:
Day Rates (Enter before 7 pm) : Adults 7,000 Children* 5,500
Night Rates (Enter 7pm~5am) : Adults 8,000 Children* 6,000
(*Children 3 to 7-yrs old)

Wikimapia of Hwajungwon Sauna

Ulleung-do, Dodong - Haesu Oncheon

2011-09-17T19:48:00.001+09:00

Ulleungdo is a lovely, green, mountainy island that even Koreans rarely visit. It has some of the clearest, blue-green scubarific waters to be found in the ROK. Sadly, while I was there it was typhoon-pouring and a little chilly for snorkeling. In addition, my ship back to the sunny peninsula was cancelled so I had to stay another wet day. In order to brave the wind and rain - and clean up after a muddy, soaky hike over a ridge - I spent an afternoon in this little village sauna.

There are some decent showers and a bunch of nice baths. There are medicinal waters which spring naturally in this area, sea water baths, and the typical hot and cool. I wasn't able to find any specific information about this hot spring, but I know it contains a high amount of minerals, probably copper or iron, due to the serious orange patches it leaves wherever it springs out of the ground. Also, there is a small "jjimjilbang" room inside of the wet sauna area so if you dry off a bit you can relax in a less watery spot. It is definitely a run-down little place, not the most spotless sauna I've been to, but it's part of the Ulleung-do experience if you're a dedicated sauna-ist like me.

To find this place, look around the port area of Dodong for any of the several small signs pointing to 해수온천 (Haesu Oncheon). If you fail to find any of them while you're there or don't read Korean so well, start from the port. There are three main streets that parallel each other up the hill - take the one on the far right (north-most) passing by Family Mart. In a couple of minutes you'll pass the Hanil Motel (한일모텔) and Hanil restaurant, you'll see one of those little square signs pointing to the right, into a teensy narrow alley. Walk, walk, walk to the set of stairs and you'll find the sauna on your left.

경북 울릉군 울릉읍 도동리
43-12 Gyeongsanbuk-do, Ulleung-gun, Ulleung-eop, Dodong-ri 43-12
054-791-5533
Not open 24 hours, this sauna closes around 9 pm.

COSTS:
Adults 5,000, children 3,500

Wikimapia of Haesu Oncheon

Pohang, Buk-gu, Jangsung-dong - Pohang Oncheon

2011-09-17T18:03:00.001+09:00

I was overnight in Pohang recently before my trip to Ulleung Island - 울릉도 - and took the chance to find a local hot spot. After dinner and some drinks with a friend, I headed up to see what this large oncheon had to offer. It was just an overnight with an early morning, but it was a nice one. I'd highly recommend anyone spending time around Bukbu Beach in Pohang to check out this place. It is large, clean, with all the usual amenities for a very usual price.

Unfortunately, they don't have a website and there's very little information on the internet about this spa. I'll leave you with the couple photos I tracked down, directions & a map, and a teensy bit of info.

Pohang Oncheon is North from Bukbu Beach, it's only a short taxi ride, or you can get the bus numbers 108 or 109 from the rest of the city to the south.

경북 포항시 북구 장성동 1518-1번지
Gyeongsanbuk-do, Pohang, Buk-gu, Jangsung-dong 1518-1
054-252-8833
Open 24 Hours

RATES:
Seems to be 4,000 for adults / 3,000 for children
(I can't remember exactly how much I paid!)

Wikimapia of Pohang Oncheon

Spas Around Busan - On Busan Haps

2011-05-24T21:55:00.003+09:00

Well, it's official. My friend Bobby McGill over at Busan Haps Magazine has launched a page dedicated to my writing about spas in Busan. It's only my one introductory article so far, but I've added my top recommendations around the city with a short note about each one, and how to get there.

Spas Around Busan on BusanHaps.com

Joong-ang Haesu (Sea) Land - Yongho-dong, Busan

2010-12-14T19:40:00.002+09:00

First off, it's pretty cute that this place translates 해수 into "Sea" in their name. I mostly notice places call themselves "Haesu World" or "Haesu Land" or whatever. But it does mean "sea" so there you go.

Secondly, the location is great. I've had this place on my radar for the past couple months but haven't had the opportunity to visit until recently. It's just up the road from Bukyung and Kyungsung Universities so it's not only conveniently & centrally located, but also excellent for a quick sleep after the bars!

You can reach this sauna by a cheap taxi from Namcheon or Kyungsung subway stations or by bus (lines 20, 22, 24, 27, 39, 131 stop just out front at Yongmoon Middle School). The Sea Land is right across from LG Metrocity building 107.

Inside the sauna you'll find a seated half-bath, a hinoki (Japanese-style therapeutic wood) bath, along with mugwort (artemisia), lemon, and the signature sea-water bath. There are also beautifully decorated dry and humid sauna rooms which are great for warming up and keeping your skin supple.

Then there is the spacious jjimjilbang which includes a large main room on both the 3rd & 4th floors, charcoal room, a stalactite cave, a wood-paneled forest room, snack corner/juice bar, and yellow soil standard & sleeping rooms. The sleeping rooms are located up on the 4th floor along with the PC room, movie theater, restaurant, skin & nail care, and sports massage.

Basically, this spa has every bath & room you could want and is well worth a visit.

부산 남구 용호1동 170
Busan, Namgu, Yongho-1-dong #170
051-622-8499
Open 24 Hours

RATES:

	Adult	Children (up to 7)
Sauna	6,000 원	4,000 원
Jjimjilbang & Sauna	8,000 원	6,000 원

Wikimapia of Joongang Sea Land

My Blog's Wordle

2010-11-04T11:52:00.003+09:00

Make your own! Wordle Home Page

Greenvill Jjimjilbang & Sauna - Banwoldang, Jung Gu, Daegu

2010-10-20T20:22:00.001+09:00

In my search for new jjimjilbang I found a nice place conveniently located just outside of the Banwoldang subway stop (transfer) in downtown Daegu. The staff were helpful and spoke a bit of English, even put my extra baggage behind the counter for safekeeping since it wouldn't fit in the locker!

As you exit the subway at gate 1, you'll see the Samjung Greencore Apartments (삼정 그린코어) and a sign for the Greenvill Jjimjilbang entrance.

This sauna is clean and warm, with the usual hot, cold, and warm baths and showers. The jjimjilbang is also standard; central TV area, ice room, a few hot dome shaped rooms, and the cafe/restaurant. It's definitely nice enough, and has separate sleeping rooms for men and women. The DVD room is a good, dark place to relax as well.

To be honest, I only stayed over here one night and have been unable to find their website, if they even have one. As a result, I am unable to quote all the current costs. Daum had the most information and Naver only has a weak listing. There is one review on Daum in which a person rated her experience as only 1/5 stars. It seems she had an isolated bad experience there with some man last year. Strange things happen to everyone once in a while.

UPDATE:
I stayed again on my most recent trip to Daegu, and I'll tell you guys this. I'd spend the money, time & effort to sleep just about anywhere else. When I entered I got 2 discount tickets reducing the rate from 7,000 per night to 6,000 and even that didn't get me to come back. Firstly, I was reminded how most rooms are just too warm for me to sleep comfortably. Then I noticed the lack of sleeping mats... that's right - you have to pay an additional 500 won (~$0.50) for a blankets (really just a large tightly-woven towel). This is the only thing you can get to sleep on or under, and it's not enough. And, a small thing, but all the showers are just one fixed temperature... a decently warm one, but still, only one.

It's an alright jjimjilbang for a day visit, but, don't sleep here unless you want to wake sweaty and stiff & sore.

대구 중구 남산2동 665번지
Daegu, Jung-gu, Namsan-2-dong 665
053-427-6665
Open 24 Hours

RATES:
Jjimjilbang Adult: 7,000

Wikimapia of Greenvill Jjimjilbang

Chungcheonbuk-do, Suanbo-myeon - Suanbo Oncheon (Hot Spring)

2010-08-29T22:00:00.009+09:00

Suanbo is a large tourist spot in North Chungcheong province known for it's hot spring bathing and skiing. There are many hotels and activities in this area, and it's restaurants specialize in rabbit, duck, and pheasant meals. This is a beautiful place to be during the cherry blossom season in springtime or of course in fall or winter when you're looking for a nice outdoor warm-up. With fall coming soon, I thought I'd introduce you to the Suanbo Hot Spring area.

In fact, I'm just in time to tell you about the annual Hot Spring Festival! It's held each year in the fall, while the weather is perfect for both enjoying time outdoors and warming up in the evening in a nice hot bath.

Event Name: 2010 Korea Great Hot Spring Festival
Event Dates: October 6th (Wed) ~ 10th (Sun), 2010 (5 days)
Ceremony locations:

First event space - Suanbo Mul-tang Park
Second event space - Angseong Hot Spring (Oncheon) Plaza

축제명 : 2010 대한민국온천대축제
축제일정 : 2010.10.6일(수)~10.10일(일) 5일간
개최장소：

제 1 행사장-수안보 물탕공원
제 2 행사장 - 앙성온천광장

Click here for more information on the festival.

The only problem is that Suanbo is a bit tricky to get to if you aren't driving. It's not near any of the rail lines I would say the best way to get here would be to reach Daejeon (from the west/south-west), Jochiwon (from the north), or even Andong (from the south-east) by train, then get a bus to Suanbo. This is because I'm just not sure how often a more direct bus route may be available from many parts of the country. If you're coming from Gyeonggi Province or near Seoul, it's possible there is a bus directly to Suanbo.

I'll be visiting this spa area for the first time during the Hot Spring Festival. Hope to see you there!

충북 충주시 수안보면 온천리 191-1번지
043-846-3605

Wikimapia of Suanbo Hot Spring Area

Click title below for large map

Large map of detailed Suanbo area, showing many hotels and hot springs, as well as the Multang Park (English & Korean labels)

The Lingo

2010-07-28T16:40:00.012+09:00

It occurred to me during the radio show I did recently that I could do to provide you all with a list of words and phrases commonly used in the sauna. I will put the English meaning first, then the Korean characters, lastly my best spelling in Roman characters for pronunciation.

Please keep in mind that there are standard romanizations but not everyone sticks to them and they may be different from what I provide, so if you see rominized Korean printed somewhere it may be slightly different. (Such as the spelling of jjimjilbang/zzimzilbang, jeon/jun, Busan/Pusan, and so on. A special note is that "u" really shouldn't be used since it could sould like either "eo" or "oo" but it's often used anyway.)

English term Korean term-Hangul Pronunciation
GENERAL

bath	탕	tang
room	방, 실	bang, shil
men / men's~	남자 / 남~	nam-ja / nam~
women / women's~	여자 / 여~	yeo-ja / yeo~
bathing area	사우나	sa-oo-na
resting/clothed area (room)	찜질(방)	jjim-jil (bang)
hot (bath)	열(탕)	yeol (tang)
warm (bath)	온(탕)	ohn (long /o/) (tang)
cold (bath)	냉(탕)	neng (tang)
bathroom	화장실	hwa-jang-shil
resting area	휴게실	hyoo-gae-shil
traditional kiln sweating cave/room	불가마	bool-ga-ma
sleeping room	수면실	soo-myeon-shil
entrance	입구	ip goo
the way to the~	~가는 길	~ga neun gil

ITEMS

towel	수건	soo-geon
outfit for resting area	찜질복	jjim-jil-bok
key / locker key	열쇠 / 로커 키	yeol-sway / lo-kuh kee
shampoo	샴푸, 세발	sham-puh, sae-bal
conditioner	린스	rin-suh
soap	비누	bee-noo
toothpaste	치약	chee-yahk

SERVICES

body scrub	세신	sae-shin
cucumber*	오이	o-ee
massage	마사지	ma-sa-jee
oil massage	오일마사지	o-eel ma-sa-jee
aromatherapy massage	아로마마사지	a-ro-ma ma-sa-jee
foot / back massage	발 / 등 마사지	bal / deung ma-sa-jee

*Cucumber facial often accompanies the body scrub service for a small additional charge. It's totally worth it!

SPECIFIC ROOMS / BATHS

yellow soil (loess) room	황토방	hwang-to-bang
charcoal room	숯방 / 참숯방	soot-bang / cham-soot-bang
salt room	소금방	so-geum bang
jewelry room	보석방	bo-seok bang
ice room	아이스방 / 어름방	i-ee-suh bang / uh-reum-bang
forest room	산림욕방	san-lim-yok bang
pine room	소나무방	so-na-moo bang
oxygen room	산소방	san-so bang
artemesia (mugwort) bath	쑥 탕	sook tang
waterfall (massaging) bath	폭포 탕	pok-po tang
event* bath	이벤트 탕	ee-ben-tuh tang

*Event baths often feature a special herbal or mineral additive in the water.

Here's a link for some basic Korean phrases if you want more.

As always, if you have a request for further information or know something I've left out, please leave a comment below. Finally, I'm not perfect~ if I've made any mistakes in the above info, feel free to help me out!^^

Shinchuntang - Onyang Oncheon, Asan

2010-07-07T16:40:00.002+09:00

During my visit to Asan, I also visited this lovely little sauna just up the street from the Hot Spring/ Tourist Hotel. There is no jjimjilbang here, and the sauna is limited to 5 baths and one dry sauna room. The baths are cool, hot, hotter, event, and massage. The event bath was unfortunately not filled when I visited, and I was disappointed by the temperature - I like hot water, but this place is just too hot to spend any amount of time in. I guess I should have expected it, the Onyang Oncheon area is well-known to be the hottest natural hot spring in Korea!

On the other hand, the massage bath was great. It's a waterfall style area with a shallow wading pool and small stools to perch on while your muscles are being pounded by the downpour. I waited in a short queue to get my time in this tub, and it was worth it. Also, the whole place smells AMAZING!

충남 아산시 온천1동 221-2
Chungcheongnam-do, Asan, Oncheon-1-dong 221-2
041-545-777

HOURS:
Open daily 5AM - 12AM (midnight)

RATES:
Enter from 5am-8pm (use from 5am til 12midnight that day)
Sauna: Adults 5,500 Students 8-18 years old 4,000 Children 1-7 years old 2,500

Wikimapia of Shinchungtang, Asan (if the building's not tagged, it's the one at the center cross-hairs.)
Shinchuntang website (I've been having trouble loading this page in the past~ good luck!)

My Recent Radio Guest Appearance

2010-06-14T14:02:00.002+09:00

On Sunday June 6th, I was a guest on Let's Talk Busan, an evening talk program on Busan's 90.5 eFM. Luckily for me it was pre-recorded, but I was still nervous for my first on-air appearance. It went pretty well, as the show's new host Jeff Lebow is well-organized and comfortable on the air. He happens to be an acquaintance of mine as well, so that helped me to relax a bit more. The other guest was a woman I had just met, Val Hamer, who offered her interesting perspective from having lived in Japan for 7 years.

You can visit the Busan eFM website to view other shows and download the file, or listen to my Let's Talk Busan jjimjilbang show now!

Onyang Hot Spring Hotel - Onyang Oncheon, Asan

2010-05-10T19:15:00.002+09:00

Cheonan-Asan is a large twin city area found just south of Seoul in Chungcheonnam-do. There are many ways to get here, depending on where you're coming from. It can be reached by KTX, and the subway line makes travel easier between the cities. There are also local rail lines which stop directly in Cheonan and Onyang Oncheon station to make your travel more direct. (Thanks to the commenter below, Helen, for supplying more info.^^)

The Onyang Oncheon is known as one of the oldest and hottest (57 degrees C!) natural springs in Korea. The sauna in Onyang Tourist Hotel (온양관광호텔- they call themselves "Onyang Hot Spring Hotel") is well-known in the area of Onyang in Asan.

This is the place to go to soak, scrub, and slow down for only 5,500 won. It has a lovely feel to it, with a lot of sun shining in from the windows and outdoor bathing area. Some showers are a bit fussy with temperature, but there are plenty to choose from if you happen to be at a cold one. In the main bathing area, you'll find 4 baths: a large cold tub, a pretty hot crescent-shaped tub, the event tub, and a hot-spring fed bath. The event tub was filled with an Ecto-cooler green water (which I later found out was due to the herb, artemisia a.k.a. mugwort.) and smelled amazing!

The real gem, where I spent most of my time, is the outdoor bath. The area is enclosed by rock and feels more like a lagoon, complete with fake flowers flowing down the walls. In addition, there is a hot, dry sauna room (bulgama) located outdoors as well but beware: they are serious about DRY. Bring your towel and prepare to pat down before you sweat it out in here!

Onyang Hot Spring (Tourist) Hotel
충남 아산시 온천1동 242
Chungnam-do, Asan-si, Oncheon 1-dong 242
Open 24/7

041-540-2565

Wikimapia of Onyang Hot Spring (Tourist) Hotel

Boryeong Mud Festival Sauna Accommodations

2010-04-15T16:31:00.003+09:00

Well, my search has revealed only one sauna (no jjimjilbang) in the area of Daecheon Beach. Haesu Sauna is very near the main beach entrance but has little information listed anywhere on the internet. From the map, it looks to be a big building but I'm not sure if there are any sleeping rooms available there.

I'm sorry ~ I wish I had better news for all you spa lovers. It would be an excellent way to save money during the festival, as the motels and minbak can be more than double their regular rates. My best advice for now would be to get yourself a minbak room. After all the sun and sand you could check out this sauna for a little rinse-down then go out walking around/drinking/eating until dawn as others will. Anyway, with a minbak or motel room, you'll have somewhere to leave your bag.

I'll be attending the Boryeong mud festival on the second weekend (July 17th - 18th) so at that time I'll update this post with more information with details of the Haesu Sauna. Until then, if you have any information about good motels or minbak, and especially about a sauna or jjimjilbang, please comment on this post.

Work N Play's information page for Boryeong Mud Festival

Wikimap of the Boryeong & Daecheon Beach area

Busan, Jung-dong, Dalmaji (Haeundae) - Vesta Spa & Fitness

2010-04-11T18:13:00.004+09:00

Vesta Spa & Fitness is currently under construction. It is scheduled to be completed on June 1, 2010. I believe they are closed for business during this time; I'd recommend calling ahead if you plan on visiting this month.

This large, well-located spa has a long reputation among foreigners and Koreans alike in Busan. Since I've heard so many good things about the place, I had high expectations. Luckily, I had the treat of visiting with someone who had been there many times before, including once long ago. She was able to offer some well-needed insight on my experience.

As soon as I arrived, from the back of the building it turned out, I noticed the unassuming entrance with a boardwalk around to the front. That's where I first saw the incredible view from their excellent location. Inside, it was clear how long they've been at their excellent location. The lockers are worn, and the keys and outfits show it too. Once in the water, you'll notice even the shower water is a bit salty (not sure what that's about, though my friend said it wasn't always like that) and the tubs could be filtered better. I was there on a Thursday afternoon and they were cleaning one of the main baths~ a tad disappointing.

Despite this, the view from the sauna was enough to make me forget the downsides. Just outside on the veranda there's a nice hot tub with some sunshine, surrounding privacy fence, and foliage. It faces seaside, so bring your shades: it gets bright!

In the jjimjilbang you can find most of the traditional rooms like yellow-soil, fire-hot (bulgama), and pretty jewelry room. There's also a small ice room, sports massage, nail art, aroma therapy, and a DVD resting room. Again, the view from here makes up for a lot.

Outside of the jjimjilbang you can find some small co-ed swimming pools (you can rent a suit for 2,000 won!) and the Sky Lounge, perfect for relaxing in the sun or enjoying some sea air with your sweetie. Since I visited during wintertime I didn't get to enjoy it. (Look for updates soon.^^)

I had a nice time here but I'd say it doesn't exactly live up to it's reputation any more. According to my friend, when it was a much nicer newer place it was the best in town. After years of heavy tourist traffic Vesta has started to show it's age, but don't cross it off your list yet - it still offers one of the best views of the seaside in Haeundae and is overall a lovely place to relax.

부산 해운대구 중동 1509-6
Busan, Haeundae-gu, Jung-dong 1509-6
051-743-5705
Open 24 Hours

RATES
Sauna : Adults 5,000 Children 3,000
Sauna & Jjimjilbang : Adults 8,000 Children 5,000

Wikimapia of Vesta Spa & Jjimjilbang

Busan, Gwangan - KA (Kwang An) Sporex

2010-03-22T16:44:00.004+09:00

Recently, a friend of mine told me his parents own a jjimjilbang near Gwangan. We got to talking about it and I decided I ought to check it out for you. I mean, I have a list of places I need to visit, but he is my friend after all, and I wanted to see what kind of place it was.

Here's how to get there: As you exit Gwangan subway station take exit 2. On your left immediately out of the exit you'll see a large Busan band - turn left around the bank and walk straight up that hill. After you pass the Top Mart (on your right ~5 minutes from the subway) you'll see the KA Sporex on the left.

So last Sunday I headed out to see KA Sporex. Firstly, my internet searches revealed inconsistencies. The Daum local listing only categorizes this place as a sauna or mok-yok-tang, not a jjimjilbang, though a search on Naver maps will show it as a jjimjilbang. Likewise, the reviews, ratings, and few photos visible on Naver cannot be found from Daum. Despite this trouble, the KA Sporex website includes some English words to help you navigate the site and shows many photos of the rooms and facilities.

My friend had said his place was a jjimjilbang so I trusted him. Sure enough, I was handed the little brown spa clothes when I asked for them. At only 5,000 won, this is a pretty cheap jjimjilbang (7,000 overnight).

From the locker room through the sauna everything is pretty typical. A couple special bits- shown below- are the individual tubs similar to what you might find in your house back in the West and the nicely designed hot rooms found at the back of the sauna. There are 3 small, shallow event baths which feature different herbal treatments to the water, massage tubs, and an ice bath, in addition to the usual hot tubs and showers.

Up in the jjimjilbang (3F) you'll notice it's remarkably dark. Could be a bad thing, but I thought it was nice on a lazy Sunday afternoon. If your thing is reading or studying you'll want to go up one more floor to the 4F "hyu-gae-sil" or resting area (휴게실). On this floor you can find the restaurant & snack corner, PC room, book stacks, massage, skin clinic & nail art, movie room, and sleeping rooms.

Back on the 3F jjimjilbang each room has a small window to let in a small amount of light but, like I said, don't expect to be able to read the newspaper in there! On the upside there are multiple rooms at a comfortable temperature - combined with the darkness it's the perfect place for a nap. A couple special rooms made my day: The forest room (산림욕방) which has fragrant woods lining the walls and fresh woodsy air and a similar pine room (소나무방). Sporex also offers a super-hot bulgama (fire) room, rooms with salt/charcoal, gold, yellow soil, an ice room, and two beautifully decorated stone rooms (보석방- jewelry, 마노방- agate). Best thing? The small TVs in some rooms are placed where you can easily change the program or switch them off if you want peace and quiet.

In addition to all this, KA Sporex has recently developed their 6th floor to house a health club, yoga studio and a dance/aerobics room. My friend told me that his parents felt it was important to focus on the fitness aspect of the spa in order to compete with other saunas in the area. Just from the looks of the membership packages and yoga schedule (4 classes a day weekdays & 2 on Saturday?!) I can see they're taking it seriously.

부산시 수영구 광안4동 733-23
Busan, Suyeong-gu, Gwangan 4-dong 733-23
051-761-0099

RATES:
Enter from 7am-8pm
Sauna: Adults 4,000 Children 3,000
Sauna & Jjimjil: Adults 5,000 Children 4,000

Enter from 8pm-7am
Sauna & Jjimjil: Adults 7,000 Children 6,000

Wikimapia of KA Sporex

About the Layout

2010-03-04T13:49:00.004+09:00

I recently started using the computer at my office, which has a regular-width screen (as opposed to my laptop's wide screen). While updating my blog, I noticed that the page has been formatted to fit properly on a widescreen computer, and not to resize it's self on a regularly-sized screen.

For now, all I can offer are my apologies. I have no idea how to make it automatically fit your screen, nor if there's even a way. I realize it's really lame to have to use the left-right scroll bar just to read a post, but I'm at a loss. The problem with just reverting to the original size is that most of my posts already have formatting and photos that will not work with the narrower cut. I tried it and the pics just run off the edge.

So, I'm sorry. ^^ (If you are tech-savvy, feel free to leave a comment or email me about how I might fix the html. Blogger uses these complicated templates and it took me forever in the first place to get the page to show more words and less blank space. I like the width settings, but only wish it would resize automatically for viewers on 4:3 aspect ratios.)

Thanks!

Seoul, KTX Station - Silloam Sauna & Jjimjil

2010-03-03T16:41:00.006+09:00

I would never have found this place for you guys if I hadn't missed my train back to Busan recently. Just so you know, the last Busan-bound KTX leaving Seoul on any given night is at 10:30. Anyway, 10:40 is too late ㅠ.ㅠ

Fortunately, the helpful lady at the information desk in Seoul Station was able to direct me out the back of the station to Silloam Sauna, which I definitely had my doubts about. I mean, how many cheap and still nice places have you ever seen around a big station? Though I was worried, my other option was to stay in a motel, and I'm really glad I took the chance on Silloam.

From the outside, Silloam is unassuming, you might even miss it if you're not looking for it. From Seoul Station, you should exit to the northwest (sort of the back, to the right if you're looking at the ticket windows) and walk through or around Lotte Mart. From there, you'll see the overpass at the large 4-way intersection to the right just ahead of you - you should be able to see the sign on the side of the Silloam building as well. Walk across and then up the ramp and you're there.

Inside, the sauna is nice but, when I was there, not the cleanest. I entered around 11pm so I'm sure they clean at night, but anyway, it gets the job done. There are quite a few interesting tubs (yellow soil, wormwood, charcoal) and "sweating rooms" (infrared, jade, super-hot salt scrub room) inside the sauna, though I didn't take the time to enjoy them when I was there. One strange thing is that you can't adjust the temperature of any of the standing showers!

The real surprise came when I ascended the stairs into the jjimjilbang area: there's a LOT here! Again, the rooms contain many unusual materials and are located around the edges of a central room on 3 different floors. The charcoal, yellow-soil, salt, and oxygen rooms are typical, as are the dens (caves, pictured at the left); you can also find something they call elvan (maybe quartz or something?), loose gravel, and a cold charcoal room. There's a singing room, cafe, coffee shop, restaurant, snack bar, PC & game room, movie room, salon/barber shop, shoe repair place, and a little store. You can even participate in yoga free of charge.

I quickly scanned the jjimjilbang for some nice place to sleep and found quite a few nooks and rooms that would have been well-suited (you can get a sleeping pad and blanket from an old guy in one of the main rooms if you sleep here), but figured I ought to head up to the top floor and at least take a look at the sleeping rooms. First of all, cell phones must not be used (or at least activate silent mode) in the sleeping rooms and there's also a "Snorer's room," to minimize disruption to other sleepers! The men's and women's sleeping rooms have 400 and over 300 beds respectively. You'll never have some ajumma's arm flop over you in this place! Each bed is separated by at least a low railing and some have a small wall between them. There are lower and upper bunks each made up with a really thick sleeping pad, pillow, and pile of blankets. Some upper bunks even have curtains for full privacy. Plus the rooms are slightly air-conditioned, humidified, purified, and all the other -ieds you could dream of. It's bliss. I had the best jjimjilbang sleep of my life here, even though it was only 5 hours worth!

Finally, Silloam offers some special services to visitors since they are located near Seoul Station. You can leave your larger suitcases or baggage in a parcel room - ask about this at reception. They will also wash or dry clean your clothes! If you need this service, be sure to allow 2 hours for the cleaning.

서울 중구 중림동 128-104
Seoul, Joong-gu, Joongrim-dong 128-104
02-364-3944

RATES:
Enter from 5am-8pm (use from 5am til 12midnight that day)
Sauna: Adults 7,000 Children 5,000
Sauna & Jjimjil: Adults 9,000 Children 6,000
*5 hours free parking

Enter from 8pm-5am (use from 8pm til 12noon the following day)
Sauna: Adults 9,000 Children 6,000
Sauna & Jjimjil: Adults 12,000 Children 8,000
*free parking for full usage time

Wikimapia of Silloam Fire Pot Sauna

English, Korean, and Japanese available on the Silloam Bulgama (Fire Pot) Sauna website