7 things NOT to do in a HOT SPRING

I love going to hot springs. I’m not talking about the hotel resorts with communal water spas where everyone has to wear a swimming costume and there are water slides and lots of ‘family fun’ involving rubber dinghies, arm bands and floats.

No, my ideal water-related getaway would be a quiet hot spring with various baths offering a range of health benefits.

Last May we went to Mungyeong.

I really recommend this as a weekend getaway especially during the tea festival, which is held at the outdoor KBS historical drama studio. And there’s the Mungyeong Saejae provincial park there too which includes part of the road to Seoul from Busan used in the Joseon period.

And then there are the hot springs. But the hot spring resort hotel was fully booked when we went to the tea festival, (book early if you go during this period). So we stayed in a nearby motel (It was cheap. we brought our own sheets!) And we went to a hot spring near the motel which was really nice. Here are some other hot springs around Korea.

Mungyeong Tea Festival 

ONYANG HOT SPRING TOWN

The oldest hot spring resort in Korea is Onyang in Chungcheongnamdo. It’s a couple of hours away from Seoul by car and it’s where the Joseon kings went to relax. I wonder how long it would have taken a royal party to get to Onyang (as seen in historical sageuk drama) with members of the party travelling by horse, sedan chair, or even on foot!

In Onyang there are signs all over the place for baths, spas, and health treatments such as massage. We stayed at the Cheil Hotel which has its own hot spring in the basement. The next day we went across the road to try the Tourist Hotel’s hot spring too.

There are older, smaller traditional baths around the town which are cheaper (around 3,000 won) but they don’t have all the modcons like jaccuzzi style baths or outdoor baths. And they are favoured by older customers. The other claim to fame in the area is the Shrine dedicated to Admiral Yi Sun Sin, read about our trip to Onyang here.

I think it would be quite intimidating to go to the hot spring alone for anyone who hasn’t been to one before. I went into the hotel baths at 5pm and it was HEAVING! And although I’ve been to lots of hot springs – in Japan, Taiwan, and Korea – every place is different and I always get a bit confused about what to do!

WHAT NOT TO DO IN A HOT SPRING

1. DON’T go in the wrong entrance 

女 여탕

男 남탕

This is an old style bath in Onyang. The women’s entrance is on the left 여탕 and the men’s entrance is on the right 남탕. You pay the 3,000 won entrance fee first to the person sitting behind the reception window in the middle. If you can’t read the hangul hopefully the colours on the entrance signs should make sense – yes, BLUE for BOYS and RED for GIRLS.

HOWEVER…

…sometimes the entrance is written only in Chinese characters. And one time when I was staying at a hotel in Japan, the entrance curtains to the men’s and women’s baths were both GREEN. I arrived to find two confused foreign guests hovering outside wondering what to do!

In some countries men and women may get changed in the same changing rooms. That is NOT the case here. EVER. (Unless you are renting a private bath). So if you don’t learn any other Chinese characters, LEARN these TWO: 女 WOMAN, 男 MAN 

2. DON’T put your coat or anything except shoes in the SHOE LOCKER

Once you have your ticket you will usually be met by some very small lockers at the entrance to the changing room.  These are for your shoes. The hint is in the size. There may also be a sign telling you to take your shoes off.

DON’T go into the changing rooms with your shoes on.

You should put your shoes in the shoe locker, lock up, and take the key with you. If there is no shoe locker just carry your shoes to the main locker. The first time I went to the hot spring in Korea on my own I tried to put my coat in the shoe locker. Don’t do that. It won’t fit and you’ll look like an idiot.

Often you can choose any available locker, other times the locker number is chosen for you. At the Cheil Hotel hot spring you have to use the locker number that is written on your receipt, not just any available locker.

3. DON’T wear anything into the baths

Once inside the changing rooms find your locker (either any free locker or the number you have been given). Leave all your clothes in the locker. Don’t wear a swimming costume or anything.

You might see ladies walking around wearing black underwear or black swimming costumes. They are not body-shy bathers, they are 때밀이 ttaemiri* professional scrubbing staff. (I hear that the male staff in the men’s baths wear black trunks)They are the staff who do massages and skin scrubbing. If you want massages or skin scrubs you should ask at reception when you buy your ticket. You can have your body professionally scrubbed for 15,000 won. This is carried out behind screens around the sides of the bath room.

*Mr Kim says it’s not polite anymore to call the scrubbing professionals ttaemiri. (ttae means ‘dead skin’, miri means ‘rub’) We should say sesinsa 세신사. (se means ‘wash’ sin means ‘body’ sa means ‘specialist’)

DON’T go into communal areas naked!

I don’t like wearing my glasses in the baths so once I’ve stripped off I have to look carefully for the actual doors to the bathing area. The doors to the baths are usually made of glass. But some changing facilities also have other doors that lead to communal areas like swimming pools or saunas. But you will need a swimming costume to go in the pool and shorts and T-shirts for the communal saunas! DON’T go out there naked whatever you do. I have heard of people opening the wrong door and oh dear …

DON’T Forget your TOWEL

Ladies are given 2 towels at reception when they buy their ticket. Men are not given any towels at reception. Stacks of towels are available in the men’s changing rooms and they can use as many as they like. Ladies are restricted to TWO towels because we steal them apparently!

After getting completely undressed, take one towel with you and leave the other one in the locker to dry yourself with later.

The towel you take with you has various uses. I use it to sit on when I go into the sauna to avoid sitting directly on the benches. I also use it as a kind of security blanket when I’m walking around the baths…

Some ladies soak the towel in cold water and then cover their heads with it in the sauna to keep their faces cool. Meanwhile in the baths, other ladies tie the towel around their head in a kind of turban – maybe it’s to keep long hair out of the water? Or they fold it in a square and balance it on the top of their heads. I’m not sure what the purpose of that is.

DON’T put the towel in the bath

The one thing to remember about the towel is that you should NEVER put the towel in the bath. If you want to wet or rinse the towel fill one of the many bowls lying around on the floor with water and soak it in that.

DON’T get in the baths without taking a shower first!

This is THE big faux pas that foreigners are expected to make. Before you actually get into the baths, you should have a wash at one of the showers. In the women’s baths most of the showers are low so you sit on a plastic seat and have a wash. But women bring a lot of stuff with them into the baths – shampoos, brushes, scrubbing items, creams – you name it. And they tend to leave them in bowls around the shower area and then go off to the baths. So it’s impossible to know which showers are free to use! Mr Kim says it’s not like this in the men’s baths. Oh to be a man.

DON’T ASSUME that there will be soap and shampoo etc in the baths 

When we stayed at Cheil Hotel I assumed they would have soap and shampoo in the baths as this is a big hotel. But they only provide towels – bit stingy.  I was kicking myself for not bringing down the shampoo and body wash from our room when I was buying sachets of soap from the vending machine.

A common sight in the baths is women scrubbing their dead skin off with an exfoliating ‘Korean Italy glove’ Bathers will also scrub each other’s backs – who hasn’t seen this kind of male bonding scene in a Korean drama? The gloves look like these (left) on sale from Amazon.

Cheil Hotel and Onyang Hot Spring Town

SAUNAS

Most baths have a steam sauna and a dry sauna where some bathers rub ‘slimming’ creams on themselves, or wrap themselves in plastic sheets to sweat more. Plastic cushions (on sale at the shop for 6,000 won) can be used in the sauna to avoid sitting directly on the bench.

BATH ETIQUETTE NOTE 2: I made all my hot spring faux pas in Japan – I  came out of a sauna all sweaty before leaping joyfully into a cold bath much to the HORROR of fellow bathers. That’s when my friend pointed out that I should have taken a shower first ..oops! Don’t do that.

GETTING OUT OF THE BATH

I can spend a good hour in the baths. First I soak in a fairly hot bath. Then I go to the outdoor bath to cool down. Then I head for the sauna. Then I rinse off and get into the cold bath. Then back to the sauna. Repeat. This really gets the circulation going. If you’re feeling very brave you could even book a professional scrub into the plan – a scrub should be done after soaking in a bath for about 30 minutes. I have one final soak in a hot bath before getting out.

BATH ETIQUETTE NOTE 3: Use your towel to dry yourself off a bit when you come out of the baths so that you don’t drip water all across the floor to your locker causing a slippery and dangerous health and safety nightmare behind you. There are often signs (in Korean) asking bathers to do this. Use the other towel in your locker to dry off properly. Drop your towels off in one of the bins near the lockers when you’re done. Once you’re dressed all that’s left to do is find your shoes and then find somewhere to have a refreshing beer.