Insadong Spa & Sauna

If you were traveling to Seoul, this is a must! My friend and I are Americans traveling to Seoul for the week and we knew we wanted to experience a traditional Korean spa. This was the perfect place for us! It’s traditional, however they’ve made small accommodations to make foreign travelers feel comfortable and the staff’s English was phenomenal so there was no awkwardness or confusion during the process. (This is a very detailed review for those who want a more in-depth explanation of the process. Spark notes for those who don’t wanna keep reading- IT’s AMAZING- GO! ) When we arrive, there was a one hour wait which they were extremely apologetic for. However, it was a rainy cold day, so spending an hour in a spa sounded delightful to us!. The staff gave us locker keys, one locker was for our shoes and the other was for clothes. The locker for the clothes was in a small dressing room style area that was private from the rest of the locker room. There were two of these small private rooms, and it seemed they gave these to mostly foreigners when we were there. The local Korean women used the larger open locker area. When we changed out of our clothes, we put on a standardized uniform which resembled scrubs, but with shorts instead of pants. While we waited the hour, we spent time in a salt sauna. There were two at different temperatures. We waited approximately 30 minutes and then told we could move into the bath area. We were given soap and asked to shower before going into the water pools. There were four different pools at different temperatures. Hot, warm, cool, and cold. Within this area, there were also three showers and four semiprivate rooms where the ladies scrub you if you choose that service. We soaked for approximately 20 minutes before we were then scrubbed. This process was not painful, contrary to other reviews I’ve read. The scrub was very effective and my skin/body felt amazing afterwards. We then soaked a little bit longer before being moved into the massage portion. (Within this water pool/scrub area there is a wall of showerheads where local Korean women sit and scrub themselves, as well as moving and out of the water baths .) My friend and I were massaged in the same room and our masseuse’s chatted with each other while we got our massages. This didn’t bother us however I could see how this would be unusual compared to most Americans massage experiences. The massage was effective in its intensity and I could definitely feel she was focusing on areas that were exceptionally tight from our day of travel. We also got a facial during the massage and all the face products felt cooling and soothing. By the end of this, I was a very happy Jell-O noodle with glowing skin!) After the massage, we were welcomed to spend more time in the salt sauna and water pools. When we were done, we changed back into our clothes in our dressing room area that had hairbrushes, Q-tips, blow dryer, body lotion, so we were able to fully dry our hair / put on makeup before leaving. Start to finish including the wait time we spent approximately three hours in the spa. It was a tremendous experience at it only $103 for the soak, scrub, massage and facial it is an absolute steal! This is the perfect sauna if you’re looking for a traditional experience that you will be guided through and feel welcomed as well as comfortable!

I wanted a full local experience of the jimjilbang and I came across this place and I decided to give it a try. I thought it was a good idea to visit after a hike to come and relax the muscles and I thought it was rather helpful. The entrance fee was reasonable to use the bath and sauna, but there were also other packages available which includes treatment like massages and scrubs. I decided to try out the body scrub which was 90,000 won which might sound expensive but was definitely a great experience. I was kinda scared because I didn't know what to expect, and I was glad the male owner could speak English so well he gave me an explanation on how to use the place. It was truly an eye opener as well as a culture shock because people don't actually walk around covered with towels so it took some time to get used to it. The body scrub was very relaxing and I didn't get to spend much time at the baths, instead decided to try the sauna. One was a mildly warm salt sauna which was very comfortable, too comfortable till could fall asleep inside. The other one was so old that I was advised not to spend more than 5 minutes inside for beginners. I spent some time rotating between the 2 saunas and also explored the facilities at the rest lounge area. There were fitness machines, TV and computer games for use and it's quite relaxing to just chill at the lounge and do nothing. Very enjoyable experience, would say overall the facility was clean and well maintained. Very nice owners too to guide foreigners. Would definitely visit again.

Our first family visit to this traditional Korean bathhouse was very pleasant, made possible by friendly & caring Bora! She can speak & understand English. She asked if it was our first time, she patiently guided us step-by-step. She even checked on my daughter & me every 5-10min to ensure we were okay & comfortable. Her patience & friendliness made the visit very enjoyable. Would be perfect if they had more food options. There were only eggs & bottled drinks available for sale. Nonetheless, good enough & no complaints. The spa package is a must-try. I chose the KRW90,000 package which consist of cucumber facial + full body scrub + washing + massage + hair shampooing. Very comfortable, I enjoyed every bit of this 50min therapy. The Korean ahjumma was very friendly too! Highly recommended to all to give this traditional bathhouse a try.

If I could give ten stars,I would do it! So nice staff, very caring people, the treatment was very good. Me and my daughter we went just today, you get a locker key, where you can get a shoe locker and a bigger locker for your clothes, with the same key, you can lock both. We paid for the 90K package with scrub, cucumber mask, hair wash and a short but good body massage. You should take off all your clothes and get completely naked, men and women are separated. You should take a shower and go to the plain water pool and wait for the scrub etc. It was like heaven! The body creams and hair dryer were also there complimentary...We went out and we were glowing, our skin was like a babys skin! I strongly recommend this place! We will definitely come again!

Lovely, low key Korean spa. Very friendly owners who will make you as comfortable with how the spa is enjoyed. There are multiple hot tubs, standing and sitting showers as well as private change rooms. There are also two saunas - one that is very hot and the other that is comfortable for a longer term stay. The spa is very well kept. Shoes and clothing are locked up and the spa clothes are comfortable. I had the full treatment that was just short of two hours that had an excellent scrub, cucumber facial, massage and hair shampoo. If you are thinking, I could use a scrub or would like to try it for the first time - do not hesitate to visit - it's lovely.