KOREAN ROYAL SAUNA(Jjimjilbang) :: DRAGON HILL SPA, SEOUL

KOREAN ROYAL SAUNA(Jjimjilbang)
Healthy and fancy experience at Dragon Hill Spa, Seoul

Jjimjilbang (Korean sauna) is one of the must-try cultural experiences for tourists and expats in South Korea. JJimjilbang, which means “The heating room”, is a ideal place for all age ranges (from youngsters to the elderly) to have a healthy sauna, a hot bath, a space for mingle with friends and family, and even for stayovers.
A common Jjimjilbang only has big hot tubs, showers, which is separated for men and women, as well as a common space to take a rest and spend time with others. This time I first tried one of the most luxury and complex Jjimjilbang in Seoul, the Dragon Hill Spa near Yongsan station.

The complex spa is a 7-story building with Jjimjilbang facilities, entertainment zones, restaurants, cafeterias and an outdoor pool. With only one-time payment, you can enjoy most of the services for several hours, except for massage and restaurants which require extra charge. Every customer will receive a wristband attached with the key to the lockers in order to store your clothes and belongings. The impressive thing is that you do not have to bring your credit card with you, but instead using your wrist band as one to pay for all services inside. The charge will be made when you check out.

Dragon hill spa has a women-only floor with various hot tubs, shower and heating room. Therefore, for female travelers who want to make use of this jjimjilbang as accommodation for one night, you would feel more comfortable and safer there. On the first floor which is the main hall, you can experience a variety of amazing sauna rooms with different concepts.

There are sauna rooms with different temperature ranges from 32 to 47 degrees celcius, which is suitable for people who just want to enjoy a warm sauna. For those who want more extreme experiences, there are small oven-like sauna rooms with the temperature goes up to 86 degrees! My friend could not handle one second inside but if you want a special sauna experience, you can totally challenge yourself. Also, there are hot sauna rooms with stones, salt and herbs which are very good combinations for detoxing your body. Noted that you should try to stay awake because you will sweat a lot after staying in those rooms for more than 10 minutes, which easily cause dehydration. After warming up your body, you could cool it off by trying the ‘Seokbingo’ room with the temperature of minus 12 degrees. The room is decorated with ice, snowman and some cute penguins.

Last but not least, you can recharge your energy by enjoying tasty steamed eggs and cool Sikhye (Korean fermented rice drink) while chatting with your friends. The prices are also reasonable ranging from 3.000~5.000 won at the nearby cafeteria. It would be ideal for a group of friends to bring some board games and spend the whole day there.

Besides the sauna, this spa makes an effort to keep you entertained by providing game zones, PC room and even Noraebang (karaoke room)! The entrance fee is 16,000won per person and you stay up to 12 hours. Only 1.000won will be added if you stay extra. Since it is opened 24 hours, you can come even in the evening to spend the night there. So even you are a traveler or expat, I guarantee that this is a great place to add in your must-try list while staying in South Korea.