The Korean bath house can be compared to the Turkish hammam. But the difference between hammam and Korean bath house is that there are at least two shallow pools for you to soak in after shower. Oh, and you have to be stark naked unlike some hammam where you are required to put on swimsuit. If you go to a small local bath house, usually there are one hot pool and one cold pool. Giant bath houses have as many as twenty pools of different temperature and types. You will find green tea bath, ginseng bath, mugwort bath, you name it.
In Korean bath houses, you pay entrance fee when entering the establishment, and you will be given a set of shorts and t-shirt, a small towel, and a key to your locker. Any additional service will be charged to your locker key, and you pay upon leaving the bath house. If you plan to stay in jjimjilbang, a hot cave-like rooms, wear shorts and t-shirts because often the jjimjilbang area is unisex. These jjimjilbangs are lined with jewel powder, charcoal powder and jade which are supposed to help you detoxify, but I am not a fan because I find the hot rooms hardly ventilated. These jjimjilbangs are located around the communal area where you will find a small store selling iced coffee, shikhye, baked eggs in the shell and more snacks. People come with their friends, sweat, chat, watch TV and drink cold drinks to keep them happy.
The bath area has pools and showers lined on the wall. After shower, you can soak in the water as long as you want. Generally, visitors are not allowed to use oil in the pool area as it is dangerous. If you feel that you have soaked long enough, you are now ready for the body scrub. (Many Korean dermatologists advise you against the Korean body scrub, saying that it is too harsh on your skin, but we do it anyway. I get it done once or twice a year, so I think it is harmless.)
Assuming that you have made a reservation, go to the designated area to meet the body scrubber. (I can't think of a better word for the ladies wearing mesh bikinis ready to scrub every inch of your body.) You lie down on a plastic bed, and the lady will start her work. A rough, rayon-viscose towel (It is called Italy towel. Don't ask me why. ) and a bar of soap are used to scrub off dead skin cells. If you are not Korean, you may find it a bit painful, but really, it is not that bad. You will be facinated (or disgusted) by the layers of grey dead skin cells falling off your body. Afterwards, the lady will wash your hair for you, giving you a brief head massage. If you opt for body massage, the lady will pound your body using baby oil. Usually, fresh cucumber mask(the lady will grate the cucumber on spot and put them on your face for hydration) or yoghurt mask is included in the service. At the end, the lady will rinse your full body and use hot towel to compress your neck briefly. Voila! You will feel so relaxed that you might even feel light headed.
If you are oiled head to toe, you cannot go back into bath. Have a light shower and get dressed. There should be a coin hair dryer in the locker area. Don't forget to have a coffee milk in triangular plastic container. It is a must.
Useful tips
1. Bring your own Italy towel. The body scrubbing ladies will use her own on her customers and will be washed after use, but sharing them sounds disgusting to me. If you forgot to bring them with you, they can be purchased at a stand in the locker area.
2. Bring your own bath products from shampoo to shower ball
3. If you do not like using petroleum-based baby oil (the body scrubbing ladies use it to briefly massage your face as well), bring your own plant-based body oil like I do. I recommend the ones in plastic bottles. The ladies in the bath will show you that you have option of aromatherapy oil which costs more than usual treatment, but they are not the fancy ones you will see in high-end spas. And they charge you A LOT for that. So bring your own.
4. Drink plenty of water.
5. Like any spa treatments, I try to avoid the Korean bath right after a meal.
It usually costs 40,000KRW to 100,000KRW for a set of body exfoliation and massage of about 30-50 mins. The whole experience will take about 1hr 30 mins. You might think that you will be awfully conscious of lying down naked on a plastic bed. But once you get used to it, you will fall asleep on the bed. A body wrap + massage can easily cost 250,000KRW at a fancy spa, so for me, Korean bath sounds like a good deal. There won't be any welcome tea and plush bathrobes, but the Korean bath will make you just as refreshed.
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