A must experience unwinding activity when you visit Seoul South Korea.
jjimjilbang (찜질방) is a place where local Koreans come to unwind, hang out and engage in a whole host of health and beauty rituals. These traditional bathhouses are somewhat essential part of contemporary Korean culture.
It is basically a public segregated bathhouse (for men and women) filled with showers, hot tubs, and saunas, but it is much more than that. It is also a communal space where you can watch Korean dramas on TV for those who are Kdrama addict like me, work out in the exercise rooms for fat burning, cool down in the chilling ice water or get sweat in the different high-temperature sauna (from medium to extreme hot water , chill out or nap in one of its napping caves, eat on its restaurant, get massaged in a massage chairs or human massage (naked), sing your heart out at a noraebang (Video OK) and many more.
Experience it my self!
So, since this is one of the bucket lists of probably all the travelers who visits South Korea including me, I made sure to experience it during my latest solo travel to this beautiful country.
Siloam Sauna
From the place where I was staying somewhere in Gimpo International Airport, I managed to take a subway line 9 (brown color) and changed to line 4 (light blue color) in Dongjak station and rode all the way to Seoul Station. From this station, it took me about 10 minutes walk to Siloam Sauna.
Siloam Sauna is one of the hot-picked Saunas in Seoul. it is a convenient location for travelers. The sauna uses natural, high-quality Germanuim water from 300m underground. The sauna has various hot and cold baths, sauna rooms, sleeping rooms, restaurant, playing room, watching TV room, fitness room and other subsidiary facilities for visitors.
Worry not! Affordable and easy to go to.
You won't worry about going there. Just download the Seoul sub-way app or Map and it will guide you hassle-free.
For Seoul Station (Subway Line 1 & 4), Exit 1.). For Chungjeongno Station (Kyonggi Univ.) (Seoul Subway Line 2 & 5), Exit 5. By taking a bus, Seoul Station Seobu Bus Stop (Blue Bus: 173, 261, 262, 463, 503, 604, N16)
Admision
[Bath]
Daytime - Adults: 9,000 won / Children (ages under 10): 7,000 won
Nighttime - Adults: 12,000 won / Children (ages under 10): 9,000 won
[Bath + Jjimjil-bang (Sauna)]
Daytime - Adults: 11,000 won / Children (ages under 10): 8,000 won
Nighttime - Adults: 17,000 won / Children (ages under 10): 11,000 won
In daytime visitors must leave by 24:00 (Additional 5,000 won charged for overstaying). For nighttime visitors must leave by 12:00 the following day (Additional 1,000 won charged for overstaying) while it is free admission for infants under 12 months.
Most visitors use if for overnight as their first night in Seoul instead of staying in the hotel directly. By that, they could save their one-night hotel fee.
Inside Siloam Sauna
Once you walk in through the main doors you will find a desk where you pay for admission. Depends on what kind of admission you want (choices stated above).
Once you’ve paid, you will be given a set of clothes to change into. Women are given orange t-shirts with red shorts, and the men are giving milky-brown t-shirts with brown shorts. Also yur looker key to its designated number. You will then bring these with you into the change room. Rooms for men and women are separated.
Unlikely moment started
The moment I set my foot inside the men's room, I took my shoes off and put them in my shoe locker and hand the locker key at the desk where another attendant for men's room is. After handing it, another key was given to me for my bigger locker where I can store the rest of my belongings.
Inside this open locker room is where men are starting to strip bare (all out naked). You then can head down to the bathhouse and sauna and walk your naked self down into the basement where things are also kept segregated. The towels are the size of small hand towels, so there’s little use in trying to cover yourself up. At the basement is where you can start your bath with other people inside and experience different minerals bathtubs. From medium-hot water bathtub to extremely hot and cold. There are the steam sauna and salt sauna. Also, there are staff (men) inside where they offer a different body scrub with an additional fee of course from $15-$50.
For someone like me who's first time to this public bathhouse and bare naked is seriously challenging and I bet for other foreigners as well. But there's nothing to get really conscious to it! Koreans consider this a normal part of visiting a jjimjilbang and you are unlikely to be given a second glance by anyone else. You can use your towel to strategically cover yourself as you walk around if you want to although towels are small lol... but you shouldn't bring it into the water though, and you have to keep it dry to use after your bath or before heading back to the changing room.
This is my favorite part of the building as well where we put on the clothes given to us. From your locker room, just go straight up to the ‘fomentation area’ where you can start exploring the jjimjilbang. Here is the area what you usually see in some scenes of Korean dramas _. Enjoy picking some mats and a little block type of pillow and have your nap. A perfect place for a nap or reading/ watching after your experience downstairs at the basement _
GIF Picture above are Scott and Judy a couple from Chicago and Japan when we had our Facebook live inside jjimjilbang cafe. I just met them inside.
In this floor (2nd) is where you can also buy some food for snacks or your meal in the restaurant. There are some rooms for entertainments, playing room like table tennis and there’s also an area where you can tuck your feet into hot jade pebbles, which I really enjoy. Upper floors are entertainment rooms, fitness area, cafe and a quiet room for sleeping and many more.
Why going to jjimjilbang?
Visiting a jjimjilbang is all about relaxing. A lot of Korean families usually go there as part of their family bonding every weekend, especially in cold season. It is a perfect place wherein everything is inside and you don't need to go out. You can spend all night inside and leave the next day fresh and relaxed. When I was there I felt like I was in a resort with different activities I have attended and I was satisfied.
If you get to visit Seoul South Korea, I surely recommend this for you to experience. Now, the ideal luggage to bring is the small hand carry one which is enough to fit in the locker room. Instead of going straight to a hotel and pay for 50 or more dollars, spend it in jjimjilbang first for $15 dollar and experience all the facilities and activities inside and leave the next day for your hotel accommodation. Don't forget to download there subway app and it will help you a lot. With your GPS you won't surely get lost.
It will be a great advantage for you if somehow you can read their hangeul texts as more labels there are written in korean.
Until my next blog Steemians! More Korea trip blogs coming. Hope you had fan!
Thank you
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