Jimjilbangs likely originated during the 15th century, during Korea's Joseon dynasty. At that time, they were known as hanjeungso and considered to be private medical clinics. It is also thought that kilns served as the first saunas in Korea.1 Though saunascape only lists 4 locations in South Korea, there are inexpensive and luxurious bath houses found in most cities in Korea.
If you can swallow your puritanical notions of decency, you might find naked, same sex, hot-tubbing and co-ed communal sleeping to be a relaxing and eye-opening experience. While I am in no way an expert in this area, I find that jimjilbangs all operate according to the same general idea. Here's what you can expect and a little about my experience with the Vesta jimjilbang in Busan.
- Upon entering remember to take off your shoes. This rule could easily apply to most places in Asia and the jimjilbang is no exception. When you pay for the night, the clerk will give you a locker key and a set of pajamas. Put your shoes in the locker in the lobby and head into the spa.
- Go through the appropriate door. Spas are segregated by gender. If you screw this up, you'll probably be kicked out. It's pretty easy. Just follow the signs and the people in front of you.
- Don't make it weird. Yes, there are a bunch of naked people in the showers (hey, you're naked too). Give yourself some time to adjust. It was a solid ten minutes before I could stop grinning. But I quickly came to the conclusion that all of the bodies here (mine included) were more or less the same and there was nothing unusual about being naked.
- Put your clothes back on before leaving the spa. The spa is naked, the communal sleeping room is not. Don't get the two confused.
- Everybody sleeps on the floor. There are no mattresses, but most jimjilbangs will provide a mat and a blanket.
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| Isn't the early morning view from the roof beautiful? |
All told, I
think every city ought to have a few jimjilbangs. Cheap places to
wash and crash for the night are a wonderful idea.
Vesta Spa information
Location: 1509-6 Jung-dong, Haeundae-gu, Busan, South Korea
Directions (courtesy of the excellent travelblog, cityawesome.com):
Take the 1003, 100 or 139 (there are other buses too) to the Seongsim Byeongwon (Seongsim Hospital) stop. If you’re coming from the west (Haeundae and the rest of Busan), get off the bus and do an about-face. Walk down to the intersection, turn left, and walk up the hill (it’s the street with the boardwalk). If coming on the bus from the east (Jangsan), then get off at the hospital stop and just turn left at the big intersection and walk up the hill. Vesta is on your left!
Take the 1003, 100 or 139 (there are other buses too) to the Seongsim Byeongwon (Seongsim Hospital) stop. If you’re coming from the west (Haeundae and the rest of Busan), get off the bus and do an about-face. Walk down to the intersection, turn left, and walk up the hill (it’s the street with the boardwalk). If coming on the bus from the east (Jangsan), then get off at the hospital stop and just turn left at the big intersection and walk up the hill. Vesta is on your left!
Alternatively, you can take a taxi (just say “Dal-mah-jee Bes-uh-tah Own-chun” and throw in “Sa-woo-na” if they’re a little confused. That should do the trick. OR you could take the metro. Take line 2 to Jung-Dong (between Haeundae and Jangsan), go out exit 5 and walk straight out past Rodeo shopping center and then go straight up the hill (the road will curve to the left). Vesta will be on your left too. It’s about a 20-ish minute walk from the metro.2
Prices:
Spa only 6000
Spa only 6000
Spa and
overnight 10000
Features:
- Multiple hot-tubs with a range of temperatures
- Outdoor hot-tubs
- Full service barber
- Body scrub and massage service
- Warm and cold rooms for sleeping
- Kitchen serving simple meals
- Noraebang (Singing room, much like Karaoke)
- Gym
- Restaurant nearby
Even if you never get out to beautiful Busan, there is guaranteed to be a spa somewhere close to wherever you are. Make it a point to go get naked while you're here. No trip to Korea is complete without a visit to a bathhouse.
1:http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20100326000444 accessed 05/27/14
2:http://cityawesome.com/busan1/2011/04/vesta-spa-and-jjimjilbang-dalmaji/
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