Sauna, Massage Rooms, and Beauty Shops (Seoul's Best #32)

Saunas in Korea are known as public bath houses where the women and men each have their own areas and are given a key for a locker for their clothes. They cost anywheres from around USD$4.00 to USD$14.00 and most include a Jimjilbang (sleeping room) where after a shower and soak one can sleep overnight on the floor of the sleeping room on a thin mat with a block for a pillow. There really isn't a way to describe the demographic of the customer base because Koreans of all ages go to public bath houses. They offer a wide range of services including massage, haircuts, and shoe cleaning and repair.

The one in my area is a real family affair. Father and son, youngsters out on the piss wanting to soak and sleep of the liquor before heading home, even the teenager wanting to relax after a long night of playing online video games at the local PC Room all frequent public baths. The hard part is finding one as Saunas, Massage Rooms, and Beauty Shops all use the same sign, a spinning cylindrical barbershop pole.

For the foreigner it can be quite intimidating if you're modest because, well, once inside clothes are not allowed. I was ushered to a locker told to take my clothes off while the usher watched, and was not given a towel. Once the clothes were inside he locked the locker and walked off with the key and pointed to the shower room where I was told to take a shower before getting in the hot tub. Once in the hot tub I relaxed and soaked away my aches and pains. I never noticed how much good a hot tub could be with my bum leg; it loosened up all the muscles in my lower back and improved my stride. After the soak I showered again, and went on a search for a towel; I found a stack of tea towels and proceed to the sleeping room to check that out.

Inside the sleeping room there are vinyl covered foam exercise mats and a vinyl covered brick for a pillow. On the right there is a rack of hospital gowns hanging in the corner, just grab one of those short and thin gowns put it on and grab a blanket and lay down on a mat and sleep. It is not the most comfortable accommodation, but it is cheap at USD$4.00 per night. Prices range from USD$4.00 to USD$14.00. The best scenario for using one is when you go to Seoul to see a movie and miss the last bus and can't afford the taxi home.

Massage rooms are similar to Saunas as you can sleep overnight and usually have a masseuse of the opposite sex. It is hard to tell where to find them because they too use the mysterious spinning cylindrical barbershop pole for a sign. I have been told that if they have two spinning barbershop poles, like in the picture above, it is a designated massage parlor, but times have changed so now it is a bit random. Many places do not provide service to foreigners and I do not know why, they just don't. Prices range from USD$55.00 to USD$80.00.

I haven't had a haircut in almost two months and I am scared. Why you ask? Well, because the beauty shops here use the mysterious spinning cylindrical barbershop pole for a sign. I went into one for a hair cut and walked out with a foot massage and shorter toenails. I am not going to give up on getting a good haircut, it is just taking longer than I would like, or perhaps I am too picky.