Going to a jimjilbang was one of those Korean experiences we really wanted to try out but found a little intimidating at first. It is a very popular activity to do – especially during the winter – among pretty much all Koreans. As winter was coming into full force, we finally decided to make a point to go to one. Our only regret – not going sooner. Kyle and I thought we would write about our experiences separately since we were separate during our time there. You can check out Kyle’s experience here.

Onyang Hot Springs – Women’s Jimjilbang

Our experience at a Jimjilbang was not quite what others might experience in full because of the particular place we visited. We chose the Onyang Hot Springs due to the price and location. It was among the cheapest we could find at ~$6/person and it was also one of the closer options to us from Songtan. Plus, the whole hot springs thing sounded pretty appealing as most of our days were now at or below freezing – and bathing for us consisted of boiling water on a stove and dumping it in a big plastic tub. It is also the oldest hot springs in Korea! There are discounts for children and the elderly.

Sorry, I don’t have many pictures for this one, but I am not sure it would have been appropriate to take pictures in a place where everyone is naked! We took the metro from Songtan down to Onyangoncheon. The springs were right across the street from a hotel area associated with them and both were easily within walking distance from the station.

Inside, the hotel looked really upscale with various antiques on display from its history.

We had a little trouble finding our way at first though. To get to the jimjilbang area after you enter, you need to turn left to go to the Grand Spa. If you continue going straight, you will find yourself heading towards various exercise rooms or even a gym. Once we made our way to the Grand Spa reception area, we visited the desk and paid to go inside. They handed us each a receipt and we went our separate ways: Kyle on the left, me on the right. Traditionally, jimjilbangs are gender segregated and this is what you should expect, although there are now a few throughout Seoul that cater more towards westerners and families who want to stay together – these however are not nude.

Any Questions?

I had a few concerns before going to a jimjilbang which I will address in case others have the same concerns or questions:

Where do you put your stuff: clothes, phone, etc?

This was not an issue thankfully. Once you walk into the locker room, you give an attendant at the desk your receipt and they hand you a key which has a band you can put around your wrist, ankle – or even hair bun, as I saw a couple people do – and a small towel. The key also says the number of the locker. You find the number and it should be large enough to hold everything.

It was winter so I had on a lot of clothing and everything fit fine. You don’t really carry around anything in the jimjilbang except your small towel. Though, if you are going for the full local experience, you may want to bring with you a few soaps and shampoos too.

What Do I Do? Where Do I Go?

Well, I don’t know about other jimjilbangs, but at this one, you kind of just did whatever you felt like. It was all mostly together. Two joined rooms inside and an outdoor area accessible through the door. You just alternated pools and saunas as you desired.

It is a lot simpler once you are there. I will note that Onyang Hot Springs does not have any coed areas. In other jimjilbangs, there are coed areas where you wear the clothes provided to you and can take a nap or go into another sauna, in some cases. Because it is the norm at others – from what we have read – we didn’t know there would not be any space together here. This did not bother us but we would have liked to know in advance. In general, this place was also different in that I don’t think there were any napping rooms period.

How Will I Know When To Meet Up With My Partner?

There are clocks in each area so you can decide on a time together. Because we assumed that we would be meeting in a coed area, it was a little more difficult for us once we realized there wasn’t one. We decided we would meet after two hours or two and a half hours, I forget and so I came out after that period of time. Kyle went out earlier because he thought I might be out because of the lack of coed area.

Though many people say they could spend days there and recommended you allow at least 5 hours, I was pretty much ready to go in an hour. However, I did not partake in any of the extra activities such as massages, or body scrubs. If you go as a group, it would also be much easier to spend a longer time soaking in the hot water.

I only stayed longer than an hour because we had designated a time period longer than that already. Assuming Kyle might even stay longer than even that time period since he loves water/pools, I left on time but then he was already out when I got out.

How Do I Avoid Paying Extra?

Yeah, maybe I just worry too much. This was no concern at all. We did not rack up any fees because everything that costs extra is very explicit about it. This includes things like massages and body scraping/cleaning which is a really popular thing to do at the jimjilbang, but we did not do it because of cost and just general hesitancy about it, though I think it would be a good thing to do. It’s like a whole body exfoliation. This area is on the far left when you walk in and you would need to request these services.

My experience/the layout, etc.:

I went in and put my stuff in my locker. There are quite a few of them. When you look straight forward beyond this there is a vanity sort of area with lots of mirrors. Here there are people – all naked of course – doing things like drying their hair. I think this is where people go who have just finished at the baths and are just getting ready to leave or something, I am not certain. This is at the far wall and from here you take a left down a hall. On the right is a bathroom with bathroom shoes provided.

When you continue on you will reach the baths area. The first step is showering. Some people just do a quick rinse before entering the springs, while others will do a full bath with soap and shampoos. To the right is a line of showers where you can clean yourself off before entering the baths. Just behind this area are tons of mirrors/vanities where women are doing things to their faces – masks, moisturizers, etc. – I did not pay a ton of attention to this area. To the left are all the indoor pools and a sauna on the wall which I missed until I was leaving.

Here is some information about the pools:

*I found some pictures on another person’s blog: http://saunasinkorea.blogspot.my/2010/06/onyang-hot-spring-hotel-onyang-oncheon.html

Ultra Hot Pool

This pool was too hot for me. I couldn’t even get inside, except for just a second. I tried a couple times. The pool was round and small – like a hot tub – and just off of the “Very Hot Pool”. The temperature read 43.6 degrees Celsius (110 degrees Fahrenheit).

Very Hot Pool

I really liked this pool. It was probably the largest one along with the outdoor pool/springs. I could not stay in this pool very long because it would get too hot and it would become difficult for me to breath. This pool was 41 degrees Celsius (105-106 degrees Fahrenheit).

Moderate Indoor Pool

This was a medium-small sized circular pool in the middle-ish of the room. The temperature was just a little warm, but really just a pretty moderate temperature. I did not see a temperature advertised for this pool.

Nordic Pool

This pool was pretty cold. I went in briefly – the first time for a bit longer – after the Very Hot Pool a few times. It is a moderate size, not large, not small. The temperature read 21.7 degrees Celsius (71 degrees Fahrenheit).

Outdoor Pool

This is probably where I spent the most time because it is where I could spend the most time without being too cold or too hot. The mineral water allegedly has some mild healing properties for ailments such as arthritis and high blood pressure. It was neither too hot, nor too cold, though after a while I would be ready for “Very Hot” pool again.

I don’t know the temperature but it was pretty warm and there were jets in one area where the warmer water came out of, and I liked to sit near those. At the far end, there were two shower/waterfall areas that could be prompted by pushing a button. I did not try them out because I don’t like to get water in my eyes which I thought would happen, and because I think they poured out cold water.

I actually got this whole pool/springs to myself a couple times. I’m not sure why it wasn’t more popular. Here is a link to a picture: http://blog.asiahotels.com/enjoy-the-soothing-hot-springs-in-south-korea/onyang-hot-springs/. To be in an inside pool you could either:

Relax on the edge with your feet in
Sit on the next ledge where the water comes just below the chest
Sit on the ground in the pool and the water will come about to your neck

In the outdoor one you pretty much just sit in it and it comes up pretty high. In general, I would mostly just alternate between the Very Hot Pool and the outside springs with occasionally dipping in the cold one in between.

The Saunas

There were two saunas: one outdoor sauna and one indoor sauna. I only tried the outdoor sauna because I didn’t notice the indoor sauna until I was leaving. Initially, I remembered the temperature and thought I had recorded it but I cannot find it and no longer remember the temperature, except that it was very hot. Actually, I had a little bit of trouble breathing and followed the suit of a couple of other women by breathing into my towel some of the time. Occasionally they would open the doors to let in air from the outside.

Inside the sauna, the walls were made up of rocks. One time I accidentally leaned back and felt like I burned my back. The seats were wooden but some people also sat on a towel on the floor. There was a heater in the corner with a pile of bricks/rocks next to it and what looked like quartz and rocks jutting out from the ceiling. The room was fairly small; if it were packed it could probably hold twenty, maybe thirty people. I wasn’t super interested in the sauna but went in to try it out and then also used it at the end to dry off.

The Experience in General

Overall, pretty good. If we were still in Korea I would probably want to go again. It is a good winter-time activity. For the most part, everyone acted very normal and you wouldn’t even really think about everyone being naked too much. I did not see anyone washing each other as Kyle saw with the men. Everyone pretty much just sat in the pools and did some beauty treatment to themselves in front of the mirrors.

I think I could have enjoyed staying there longer if I had a friend with me to talk to but, at the same time, I liked being able to go between the pools at my own pace. Only one person really tried to talk to me – which I was thankful for. It was was a woman who asked where I was from and said she had been the to the US and had visited some area like Utah which I thought was interesting. I always wonder how people decide which areas in the US to visit.

When it was time to go, I returned to my locker, got my things and went into the waiting room to find Kyle and take the metro back to Songtan. I did have some concerns about going at first but was glad we went and had the experience. Feel free to ask me if you have any questions that may be holding you back from the experience as well.

Prepare For Your Soak

There really isn’t too much you need to do to ensure that you enjoy yourself at a jimjilbang, just show up and you’re pretty much good. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t make it even better. The best way to do this is to personalize your experience to your preference.

Travel Towel – You are provided with a small towel entering a jimjilbang. However, the towels tend to be small and uncomfortable. This microfiber towel is really comfortable and easy to carry. Plus, it is all yours. The towel is also great because you can bring it with you for just about anything in Korea, hiking, swimming, beach – you name it. Relefree Microfiber Travel Towel
Travel Bottles – I do wish that I could have given myself a full wash – I really didn’t know what to expect! Now, I’m not going to tell you which shampoo or soap to bring, we all have our preferences, which is why I recommend these little bottles. They’re 3 oz each, so you can easily travel with them and you can fill each one with your favorites. Shampoo, Conditioner, Soap – check! Kitdine Silicone Travel Bottles
Water Bottles – Collapsible Water Bottles – These are some of our favorite items to bring with us. They’re really light-weight and you can also roll them up so you can store them away easily. There isn’t anywhere to drink in jimjilbangs, so be sure to bring some for yourself. If there is one item that is most important to bring with you, it is water – and this is a great way to carry it.
Toothbrush – Might as well give your whole body the clean treatment! These foldable toothbrushes are easy to carry, and there’s two just in case you lose one, or you have a partner who could use one themselves. Travel Toothbrush
Korean Face Mask – When in Korea, do as the Koreans do! I’ve given Korean face masks a try, and it’s a big thing here. If you want to really get into the experience, give it a go! Dermal Korean Collagen Essence Facial Mask
Cash – Even though South Korea is pretty modern, they still don’t accept cards everywhere. If you want to fully enjoy a jimjilbang, you’re going to need to bring cash because that is what they take for – literally everything. Don’t make the mistake of showing up with just a card.