My friend made it her agenda to visit a Jimjibang / Korean Bath House this trip. She is a big K-drama fan and didn't want to visit Korea without experiencing the bath house she has seen in several dramas.
After doing some online research, we decided on Siloam Sauna near Seoul Station because of its good reviews.
It's not hard to locate this sauna. Just take the train to Seoul Station on intersection of subways Line 4 and Line 1 and exit. Walk to the back (or around building) of Lotte Mart and you should be standing on the top of the stairs below:
If you have the time, take it slow in the Jimjibang because there's even hair and beauty salons in the bath house for your enjoyment! And should you get hungry, there sell food just like in the K-dramas!! You can practically run away from home cheaply and stay in a Jimjibang!
I'm sure it's a welcoming place to go to, especially in the Winter. Just make sure you go on a weekday where there's less crowd if you're body shy like me. ;)
After doing some online research, we decided on Siloam Sauna near Seoul Station because of its good reviews.
Siloam Sauna Entrance
It is rather cheap too with a 7,000KRW per pax entry fee. We didn't quite understand the ticketing lady but there's a cheaper fee of 5,000KRW if you only want to use some of their facilities. Anyway, we paid the full 7,000KRW so that we can explore the whole sauna.
For entry after 8pm, it'll cost 8,000KRW per pax instead.
Ticketing Booth
Shortly after we reached the place, a group of school children arrived with their teachers too. We got our tickets and the ladies and men have to enter through separate doors leading to the locker rooms.
Locker Room Where Naked People Roam
Once in, you'll need to place your shoes in a small locker located near the entrance and pass the locker key to the counter lady. She'll exchange it for another bigger locker key, a set of clothings and 2 towels.
It's quite a sight to see everyone walking or sitting around naked in this locker room. The first step is usually to go into the baths one level down on B1. And it's the practice to leave your clothes behind and nonchatlantly strut naked downstairs.
Siloam Hot Pot Sauna Brochure
The ticketing booth lady kindly pointed out that the common meeting area is on the 2F as shown in the brochure. In fact, besides B1 and L1 where naked souls reside, all other levels are unisex.
While my friends were making up their minds to go naked in B1 and try out all the different hot, cold, salt etc. baths supposedly good for your health and skin, I ran off to the higher floors to be fully clothed in comfort.
I just tried all the different hot, cold, salt etc rooms that are supposedly beneficial for health. There's even jade, charcoal and ice rooms. All I know I was sweating like hell in 1 room and cool like a polar bear in the next.
At the end of it all, I still had to go naked to shower and clean up after all the sweating. The small towel was definitely not enough for my modesty but at least, it's only strangers (no friends) around by then.
Visiting the bath house is such a norm to Koreans and there were people soundly asleep in the resting room, hugging the hard wooden divider and snoring away. It's quite a sight.
In fact, if you want a cheap accommodation, you can stay overnight in a bath house; there's sleeping rooms available in the topmost floor. And there's even a room for snorers! How considerate, hehe...
It's not hard to locate this sauna. Just take the train to Seoul Station on intersection of subways Line 4 and Line 1 and exit. Walk to the back (or around building) of Lotte Mart and you should be standing on the top of the stairs below:
Back of Building
You should be able to see the view below from the bottom of the stairs and behind the building. The Siloam Sauna sign is red and big on top of the building.
Walk towards Siloam Building and you'll need to cross under the overpass at the 4 way intersection below:
Walk ahead and Siloam Hot Pot Sauna is situated on top of the very steep slope.
It is an eye-opener to visit Korea's Hot Baths. The many naked Ajuumas should be right about the right way to maintain tofu smooth skin. Must be all the salt scrubbing...
And it's interesting to know that teachers are perfectly comfortable being naked with their students.
I'm sure it's a welcoming place to go to, especially in the Winter. Just make sure you go on a weekday where there's less crowd if you're body shy like me. ;)
