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Cheonggyecheon stream in central Seoul at sunrise, stepping stones across the shallow water between trees and office towers
Seoul

2 spas; both are the city's own kind of bathhouse.

Photo: Basile Morin, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Seoul: two jjimjilbangs, a small one in Insadong and a 24-hour one south of the river

Seoul's own bath is the jjimjilbang, the bathhouse that spread in the 1990s. Hot tubs and saunas come in gender-separated baths, then a shared floor in spa clothes, with heated rooms, snacks and places to sleep. Both picks below are jjimjilbangs, and both carry our Ritual tag.

The list is short because most of the city's big jjimjilbangs score 4.0 to 4.4 on Google, under our 4.5 line. The hotel spas we checked either lack their own listing or have no water open to visitors. The two picks sit 10 km apart.

Illustrated map of Seoul from Jongno to Yeouido along the Han River, with Gwanghwamun Gate and N Seoul Tower on Namsan drawn in cobalt ink 12
  1. 1

    Jongno and the palaces · Insadong, Yulgok-ro 6-gil

    Insadong Spa & Sauna

    LocalRitual

    A small jjimjilbang in a basement in Insadong: gender-separated baths, a shared salt room and hot sauna, and Korean body scrubs from 70,000 won.

    BathhouseSaunaMassage

    70,000 won25-minute body scrub

  2. 2

    Mapo and Yeouido · Yeongdeungpo, Seonyudong

    The Park Spa Land

    LocalRitual

    A 24-hour jjimjilbang in Yeongdeungpo: two saunas, warm and cold baths and a shared floor with heated rooms and a food corner, by reviews' accounts.

    BathhouseSauna

    11,000 won12 hours, by a 2026 review

Checked 7 November 2026. Picks follow the same published rules in every city.