Getting Naked in Seoul (My First Jjimjilbang)

"After a few months in Korea I did the one thing I never did before in my life; I got naked in public and actually liked it."-- Matt Gry


When I arrived in Korea it was the last day of August and the weather was still great and I could make day trips around my city or to Seoul once I built up my confidence ( See my First Time to Seoul on Subway Article). The warm weather allowed me to stay outside and not worry about finding shelter for the night if I had to wait an hour or so for the subway. This changed when the colder winter weather rolled in. Unknown to me Korea actually can get really cold in the winter. The cooler weather put a damper on my plans as a cold long wait was something I didn't want to do weekly.

Fresh Snow In Korea

My solution to the problem was staying at Korean Spas or Saunas called Jjimjilbangs. The spas charged about 10,000 Korean won for a 12 hour stay and rates usually increased at 1,000 won per hour after. This was a cheap and easy way to stay over night in Seoul or any other city in Korea for a matter of fact (during my time in Korea I stayed in numerous jjimjilbangs in numerous cities). The spas provided a sweet suit that consisted of a sweatshirt and shorts. They actually had shirts and pants that fit me which was amazing as most stores sold clothes that were too small for my body.


The first time I went to a jjimjilbang was on a cold January night in 2014. I had spent the day in Seoul hiking up Namsan mountain and viewing Myeongdong. I had ended my hike on the south side of Namsan and walked down a hill to the foreigner district in Seoul. I decided to try some Canadian food out at a restaurant. I remember I had a poutine and a cheese hamburger. After eating my meal it was quite late and cold for Korean standards. At this point I had to decide whether to take the subway ride home or stay in Seoul. I searched my phone and found a spa that was close and the reviews were great.

Namsan Tower at Night

I made it to the bottom of the stairwell where the spa was located and looked up. I had passed the spa before but never went in it. I ascended the stairwell to the spa. I was located pretty high up on a hill. I won't give the spa's name but it located on the south side of Itaewon's main road. The spas doors were closed but they looked clean for the area so I pushed them open and went in.


I was greeted at the lobby by a Korean man who asked me if I was there for the night or just the hot tub. I said for the night and I paid my bill. The man gave me my branded shirt and shorts and told me to take off my shoes. I took of my shoes and entered the man only changing room. I descended down the stairs to the changing room. Another Korean man gave me a key to a locker where my items would be stored for the night. I went to the locker and changed into the spas clothes.


I didn't know what to expect but I was surprised by the number of naked people walking around. It wasn't common in Canada to see naked men walking every where and relaxing on furniture. I looked around the ground floor on the men only section and discovered that you couldn't go into the hot tubs or saunas in this section unless you were nude. So I passed on them and went to the common area.


The common area was a mixture of clothed men and women. The area was a big open room with little specialized spas littered around the sides and corners. There were sand, salt, extra hot and ball saunas just to name a few. These saunas were smaller than the men only ones but encompassed both men and women. I climbed the stairs to the next floor and discovered sleeping cells and a open common area. The sleeping stalls were small and just long enough for me. The were stacked two and three high like bunk beds.


I had now explored the whole spa so I went back to the common spas and spent some time in the ball sauna. This sauna is mid heat but has small red balls religiously spread across the floor. You lay down in the sauna and spread the balls over your body and relax. This was relaxing for me and I spent a fair bit of time relaxing in this sauna. After this I got a drink of free water ( there is a concession booth that sells food and drinks as well). I then went into the rock salt sauna and relaxed in it for awhile.


Now I was sweaty and really hot so I decided I would go down to the men only section of the spa and take a cold shower and relax in there for awhile. I went down the stairs and was greeted by the Korean man again. I went to my locker and had second thoughts. I had never done this before I had never gotten naked in front of a large group of people before and was getting nervous. However my nervousness was outweighed by the fact I was sweaty and overheated. I took off my shirt and my shorts slowly and hung them up in the locker. Then I closed the locker door and locked it.


My body was now free and I felt kind of strange walking through the locker room to the men's hot tub and sauna room. I fell like everyone was watching me and that I was the center of attention ( looking back I realize this was not the case). I opened the door to the room and walked in. There were showers at the entrance and I used the first one to wash myself and cool down my body. After my shower I looked over the room. There were a few hot tubs in the sauna and an empty pool in the back. I went to the first hot tub and went in, all the hot tubs had different temperatures and one hot tub was actually a cold bath. I relaxed in the hot tub for well over ten minutes. Then I tried out the cold tub which was overly cold and I couldn't last for more than a couple of minutes. There were two saunas in the back. One looked like it was broken and the other one looked vandalized so I just went back to the hot tubs.


The room was generally empty except for maybe about thirty people which was nowhere near capacity which was probably a hundred or so. During my time in the men only hot tub room nobody had talked to me or even noticed me. This raised my confidence and made the overall experience better. I was but naked but calm and comfortable. I liked it for the first time in my life I was naked outside of my house or a change room and I actually liked it. The hot tubs were great but the lack of saunas in the area was disappointing. This wouldn't be my last time to this spa and I was already thinking of exploring others.


When I was tired out of the hot tubs I had a cold shower and walked outside. I was barraged with men using hair dryers in very personal places (I however didn't partake in this and never did in all my spa visits). I picked up a towel and dried myself off with it. There were q-tips, combs, and other products to prep yourself but I never used them. When I was dry I went to the locker room and took my spa clothes out and put them on. I then went to the sleeping room and picked a cell to sleep in. I slept well as I was tired out from the spa.


The next day I woke up refreshed and well rested. I went down to the locker room and took of my spa clothes and put them in the wash basket. I went back into the men only room and had a shower and enjoyed the hot tubs for awhile. After leaving the room I dried off and went to put my clothes back on. I took my shoes in hand and returned my locker key. I then went to the spa lobby and put back on my shoes and exited the spa.