What It's REALLY Like Inside a Korean Bathhouse

Byrdie's Korean-beauty correspondent Alicia Yoon is shining light on what it’s really like at a Korean bathhouse—from the steaming saunas to the famed full-body scrub-down. Read up!

There are bathhouses in Korea that are higher-end as well as those that are more tourist-focused. Then, there are the super-local bathhouses you walk to from your home—there’s usually one you can find in any neighborhood. If you’re ever in Seoul and you’re up for a real local experience, here’s what you can expect (and this is going to get a little personal, as I’ll be sharing with you a play-by-play of what it’s like at my neighborhood bathhouse). Let’s dive right in (pun intended)!

Keep scrolling to find out how to navigate a Korean bathhouse.

Getting In

It’s all very unceremonious. You pay a small entrance fee of anywhere between $2-$10. In the bathhouse I’ve been going to since I was 11, you walk in and pay at a small counter desk at the entrance.

You also take your shoes off by the entrance and put them in the shoe rack by the door. Some places will have separate shoe lockers, but the local places will usually just have a shoe cubbyhole that’s not locked (so don’t bring your Jimmy Choos). You trade in your shoes for indoor slippers—some are rubbery and foamy, and some are flat cotton slippers. They’re not usually brand-new ones: They’ve probably been worn by others and potentially gently spritzed (if they're of the foamy material), but people aren’t too concerned about this, so if you’re squeamish about sharing slippers, BYO.

As soon as you walk in, be prepared to see a lot of nudity everywhere. Bathhouse-goers are super comfortable in the buff, and they’ll do everything from blow-drying their hair to sipping on yogurt drinks (we’ll get to this later) to having boisterous chats with friends without a stitch of clothing on. At the same time, if you’re fully clothed in a coat and just hanging out, no one will really care.

No one is going to lead you to a locker. You walk in and find an empty one with a key hanging off it. There aren’t robes inside the locker, so be prepared to strip down, lock up your belongings and join the nude crowd. If you’re shy about this, there are thin towels stacked up somewhere near the entryway of the bathing area, so grab one of those to cover up. The towels are usually small, though—like a large-ish face towel—and will probably only cover up your torso. 

Local bathhouses don’t come with a ton of bells and whistles. They’re neat, practical, and comfortable. There’s usually a bathroom; glass doors that lead to the main bathing area; an area with lockers; an area with vanities stocked with skincare products, dryers, Q-tips, and body lotion; and an area where you can hang out and drink yogurt or juice, watch TV, and lay down, and relax.

My local bathhouse is pretty typical, and here’s what it looks like: There’s a section of standing showers—just one showerhead next to another; no partitions. Then there’s another section, a slightly larger one, of sit-down showers that run next to each other. The showers have a tile shelf in front, a small mirror running across the front of the showers, and stools to sit on while showering. These stools are really low, about a foot-and-a-half high. The sit-down section gets pretty communal. It’s not uncommon for people to come together and chat while showering and take turns scrubbing each other’s backs. And a common scrubber you’ll see is some version of the "Italy towel" that gets every layer of dirt right off. It’s actually not great for the skin to scrub so hard—and Koreans can scrub!—so I recommend going easy on the skin. Gentle is usually the better way to go here.

The Supplies and Amenities

There are usually thin towels lined up by the main bathing area as well as a scale. I have a habit of weighing myself before I go in and get my body scrubbed because so much dirt comes off that I'm curious to see a whole half-pound invariably fall off when I get out. (In reality, I’m sure it’s actually due to sweat, not exfoliated skin). The main bathing area is usually stocked with some sort of bar soap you can use for your body, and sometimes they'll have shampoo, conditioner, and toothpaste. Most people bring their own bathing supplies.

When you’re entering the bathing area, in addition to your own supplies (which I highly recommend bringing, as there won’t be loofahs or toothbrushes supplied, and the soap and shampoos available, while just fine, may not be according to your taste), you should grab a thin towel or two usually stacked right by the entrance.

In the middle of the room, there are two bathtubs that can fit about 20 people easily. One is filled with extremely hot water, and the other is filled with ice-cold water. The idea is that going in and out of these tubs, from one to the other, can help achieve the ideal level of circulation. These baths are on the shallow side and have a ledge to sit on inside the tub, which brings the water right to about belly level. The hot tub can also be used as a half-bath to help with circulation.

When you sit in the tub, immerse only from your belly button down, with everything else, including arms and hands, outside of the water. You’ll work up a sweat, and Korean tradition says it helps with circulation. I love doing this, and I often tend to sit like this for about 15 minutes. It’s my bathhouse peacetime, and many of my meditative moments have happened here.

There’s also a regular warm-water tub to bathe in located in the far corner. Along one wall, there is also a wet sauna room. (You can find the dry sauna room outside the main bathing area).

Across the opposite wall is a small, low glass partition. Behind the partition are five “beds” covered in a rubbery material. My bathhouse heroes are the five women manning the beds. They’re usually donned in what can only be described as slightly toned-down evening lingerie (think sheer black lace bras and sometimes equally sheer underwear). This wardrobe is pretty typical in most bathhouses, but no one bats an eye; we all get it, it gets hot and wet in there, and sheer, thin materials are most comfortable to wear. Plus, it’s all contextual, and when nudity is the standard, this lingerie really serves in part as a way to set apart those who are getting their bodies rubbed down, and those who are providing the incredible body rub-downs.

These women will take their Italy towels and, using just some soap and water, scrub so much dirt off your skin (it looks like eraser crumbs all over your body) that you’ll be astounded. It costs extra for this scrub-down, but you can also get a body massage, which involves everything from deep-tissue to body stretches to light pounding with fists. The best part is that they’ll use straight-up milk (literally the milk that I might have drank that morning), sesame seed oil, or just plain-old body oil. I always ask for the sesame seed oil followed by the milk. Throughout the massage (and sometimes even through a part of the scrub-down), they’ll leave freshly cut and grated cucumber on your face. They also finish up with an invigorating scalp massage as they wash your hair. 

Other bathhouses have different rooms with different herbal scents or tubs filled with green tea, clay, you name it, but my local bathhouse focuses on just the staples.

The Routine

Now that we went over the lay of the land, let’s get down to the routine. Not everyone will get a full-body scrub-down or massage, but I always get one when I go to the bathhouse because that’s the main draw for me.

Before heading into the bathing area, I always make sure to use the bathroom. I mean, who wants to be interrupted during the whole bathing ritual? After this, I head in and shower, usually using the sit-down showers. Before sitting on the stool, I wash it thoroughly with soap (this is atypical bathhouse behavior, but I get squeamish), place my towel over it, and wash my hair, body, and face. People also brush their teeth here at this point (Koreans are really into brushing their teeth, and it’s also a thing during lunch breaks at the office), but I usually save that for when I’m home.

Next, I do my half-bath in the hot tub. I don’t do the hot-cold bath because I get cold easily, but this is where others would typically start doing the hot-cold bath swapping.

After this, I head into the wet sauna armed with my other towel soaked completely in ice-cold water. The wet sauna is steaming hot, and I quickly scurry to an open area and lay down on the floor where it’s a bit cooler. I usually go to the bathhouse with my mother, and while we don’t scrub each other’s backs (mainly because we’re both going to get a full scrub-down from the women at the rubber beds), this is where we have total solitary away from the noise.

I’m usually gasping for air and struggling to stay in the hot, wet room. My mom usually tries to tell me a long-winded story in a hushed voice to keep me in the room. The women at the beds really like you to stay in the wet room for at least 10 minutes because it helps with the exfoliation later without making it necessary to rub too hard, which can irritate the skin (especially my sensitive skin). Thanks to my mom’s storytelling, I make it to the 10-minute mark and quickly exit the room. 

The Scrub + Massage

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I make it to the rubber bed, and I always ask for a softer scrub-down. My scrubber complies but usually defaults to a pretty intense scrub (I prefer it much, much, much softer than what is typical). She also applies the fresh, cool cucumber to my face, and by the end of the scrub-down, half of it is on my bed and hair. After the scrub-down, I’m asked to go over to the standing shower and quickly rinse off and soap down. It takes all of two minutes and when I head back, she greets me with dry towels and towels me off. Then, I’m off to the massage portion, with sesame seed oil, followed by milk. I wouldn’t call this massage relaxing (since it’s a bit vigorous), but it’s really rejuvenating. There’s some deep tissue, some pressure points, and a whole lot of thumping and pounding (not painful), all the while oil and/or milk gets sloshed around and rubbed into my body. She washes off the milk and also washes my hair. I love this part because the scalp massage is one of the best massages I’ve ever had to date. I still haven't found a better place for head massages than my local bathhouse. It’s always the right amount of pressure, and it’s a fairly long massage so tension and worries tend to melt away.

The Results

After this, I walk back out to the non-bathing area onto dry land again. I weigh myself. Yup, I shed a whole quarter kilogram (half a pound-ish) in what is probably equal parts sweat and dead skin cells. I go to my locker and get out my skincare products. I find a seat at the vanity table area (a long L-shaped vanity area with about 10 puffy seats to sit on). I place a towel over the seat and start slowly indulging in my skincare routine, which usually includes about a dozen-plus steps for me. (I have dry, frail skin and am decidedly very high maintenance about it all). I use the Q-tips in front of me for my ears as well as the body lotion provided. I skip blow-drying my hair, but dryers are available for those who might need them. My mom and I sit next to each other and share some products, but we have our own personalized routines, so only a few products overlap.

I finish before her (she spends a lot of time doing facial massages and stretches while sitting), go to my locker, and put on just my shirt and underwear. I ask the lady in the front for two things: a roasted egg, Korean-bathhouse-style, and a “Yakult” yogurt drink, two popular bathhouse snacks. I sprawl on the floor as I wait for my mom to finish up, sometimes falling asleep. (She’s still going at it at the vanity table, at this point). Once she’s done, I get dressed and we’re all done.

The whole experience takes about two hours, but it’s always two hours well-spent. I walk away relaxed and clean, feeling supple from head to toe, and always with a lighter gait.