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A jjimjilbang (; ) is a large, sex-segregated
public bathhouse
Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...
in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
, furnished with
hot tubs, showers,
Korean traditional kiln saunas and
massage
Massage is the manipulation of the body's soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. In Eu ...
tables. ''Jjimjil'' is derived from the words meaning ''heating''. In other areas of the building or on other floors there are unisex areas, usually with a snack bar,
ondol
Ondol (; , Hangul: 온돌, 溫堗, ) or gudeul (Hangul: 구들, ) in Korean traditional architecture, is underfloor heating that uses direct heat transfer from wood smoke to heat the underside of a thick masonry floor. In modern usage it refers ...
-heated floor for lounging and sleeping, wide-screen TVs, exercise rooms, ice rooms, heated salt rooms,
PC bang
A PC bang (Korean: PC방; literally " PC room") is a type of LAN gaming center in South Korea, where patrons can play multiplayer computer games for an hourly fee. The typical cost for an hour of play ranges from 500 to 1500 KRW (approximately ...
,
noraebang
Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...
, and sleeping quarters with bunk beds or sleeping mats. Many of the sleeping rooms have themes or elements to them. Usually jjimjilbangs will have various rooms with temperatures to suit guests' preferred relaxing temperatures. The walls are decorated with woods, minerals, crystals, stones, and metals to make the ambient mood and smell more natural. The elements used have
traditional Korean medicinal purposes in the rooms.
Most jjimjilbangs are open 24 hours and are a popular weekend getaway for South Korean families. During the week, many hardworking South Korean men, whose families live out of the city for cost savings, stay in jjimjilbangs overnight after working or drinking with co-workers late into the night. The cost is around 8,000–12,000
won to enter, and one can sleep overnight and enjoy the bathhouse and sauna.
Hanjeungmak
Hanjeungmak (
Hangul
The Korean alphabet, known as Hangul, . Hangul may also be written as following South Korea's standard Romanization. ( ) in South Korea and Chosŏn'gŭl in North Korea, is the modern official writing system for the Korean language. The let ...
: 한증막,
Hanja
Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom.
(, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...
: 汗蒸幕) is Korean traditional
sauna
A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...
. Intensely hot and dry, it uses traditionally burning wood of
pine
A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
to heat a domelike
kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...
made of stone. Nowadays, hanjeungmaks are incorporated into jjimjilbang rather than being independent facilities. ''Bulgama'' installed in jjimjilbang is a variety of hanjeungmak, heated with higher temperature. Sometimes the dome-shaped walls of kiln rooms are plastered with
loam
Loam (in geology and soil science) is soil composed mostly of sand (particle size > ), silt (particle size > ), and a smaller amount of clay (particle size < ). By weight, its mineral composition is about 40–40–20% concentration of sand–sil ...
, salt, minerals.
History
The first mention of hanjeungmak, initially referred to as ''Hanjeungso'' (,
Hanja
Hanja (Hangul: ; Hanja: , ), alternatively known as Hancha, are Chinese characters () used in the writing of Korean. Hanja was used as early as the Gojoseon period, the first ever Korean kingdom.
(, ) refers to Sino-Korean vocabulary, wh ...
: 汗蒸所), is found in the
Annals of Sejong in the 15th century. The record also states that the Korean kiln saunas were used for medicinal purposes. At that time, hanjeungmaks were state-supported kiln saunas maintained by Buddhist monks. Since 1429, saunas have been built as separate facilities for men and women. There is a picture painted by Kim Jun geun in the 19th century depicting a hanjeungmak and its circular wall made from
brick
A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...
s accompanied by a bath house.
Facilities
Jjimjilbangs usually operate 24 hours a day. In the entrance, there are the doors labelled “men” or “women” and shoes are to be stored using a given key. Once inside, the shoe locker key is exchanged with another locker key to store clothes and belongings. Afterwards bathers walk into the gender-segregated bathhouse area (children of both genders below seven
years of age are free to intermingle) and take a shower. Then, one should wear the jjimjilbang clothes (usually a T-shirt and shorts, color-coordinated according to gender), which are received with the locker key.
In the bathing areas, there are
kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...
saunas with themes including a jade, a salt, or mineral kiln: the dome-shaped inside the kilns are plastered with jade powder, salt and mineral respectively.
Often there are several kilns with temperatures ranging from . The temperature of the kilns is displayed on a sign at the entrance.
In addition, it has various facilities such as PC room, sleeping room, arcade, movie room, fitness center, and karaoke. In the case of sleeping spaces, there are many places that are separated for men and women. There are usually cushions, blankets, towels, and pillows on the floor. Pillows are usually made of hard wood or soft leather, and cloth is rare.
Hygiene
Jjimjilbangs are kept in a very sanitary condition for the health of patrons, and most are cleaned continuously. No harsh chemicals are used in the waters or saunas.
But there have been cases in some jimjilbangs where molds or athletes foot germs were detected during the hygiene inspection, and there were also cases of administrative sanctions due to expired food.
Currently, health control standards are set by the Public Health Control Act.
All wet areas prohibit the use of clothing for safety reasons. With the extreme heat of the baths and steam rooms, it is believed that toxic chemicals can leach out of apparel and into the body. It is also believed that if you wear a swimsuit or cover up you may be trying to hide a disease.
Recently, the hygienic quality and healthiness of some jjimjilbangs were questioned, especially the proper washing of clothing provided by the jjimjilbangs. Concerns about the clothes increasing
atopy
Atopy is the tendency to produce an exaggerated immunoglobulin E (IgE) immune response to otherwise harmless substances in the environment. Allergic diseases are clinical manifestations of such inappropriate, atopic responses.
Atopy may have a ...
symptoms in patients, or even of accidentally hosting parasites, were voiced, although the evidence was inconclusive.
Safety
Theft, usually of smartphones, is occasionally a problem at some jimjilbangs.
Food
![Korean shaved ice-Patbingsu-10B](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Korean_shaved_ice-Patbingsu-10B.jpg)
* Iced
Sikhye
''Sikhye'' (식혜, also spelled ''shikhye'' or ''shikeh''; also occasionally termed ''dansul'' or ''gamju'') is a traditional sweet Korean rice beverage, usually served as a dessert. In addition to its liquid ingredients, S''ikhye'' contains g ...
() is a sweet rice beverage.
* Baked eggs () are eggs slow-cooked in the hottest
sauna
A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...
. They are eaten like a hard-
boiled egg
Boiled eggs are eggs, typically from a chicken, cooked with their shells unbroken, usually by immersion in boiling water. Hard-boiled eggs are cooked so that the egg white and egg yolk both solidify, while soft-boiled eggs may leave the yolk, ...
().
*
Miyeokguk
''Miyeok-guk''
* () (also rendered as miyuk guk) or seaweed soup is a non-spicy Korean soup whose main ingredient is miyeok, or seaweed. It is traditionally eaten as a birthday breakfast in honor of one's mother and by women who have given birt ...
() is a soup made from miyeok, a type of
seaweed
Seaweed, or macroalgae, refers to thousands of species of macroscopic, multicellular, marine algae. The term includes some types of '' Rhodophyta'' (red), ''Phaeophyta'' (brown) and ''Chlorophyta'' (green) macroalgae. Seaweed species such as ...
; and typically a
mussel
Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve molluscs, from saltwater and Freshwater bivalve, freshwater habitats. These groups have in common a shell whose outline is elongated and asymmetrical compared with other ...
based broth.
*
Patbingsu
''Bingsu'' (), sometimes written as ''bingsoo'', is a Korean shaved ice dessert with sweet toppings that may include chopped fruit, condensed milk, fruit syrup, and red beans.
The most common variety is ''pat-bingsu'' (), the red bean shaved ...
() is a shaved ice dessert with sweet toppings such as chopped fruit, condensed milk, fruit syrup, and
Azuki beans.
*
Iced coffee
Iced coffee is a coffee beverage served cold. It may be prepared either by brewing coffee normally (i.e. carafe, French press, etc.) and then serving it over ice or in cold milk or by brewing the coffee cold. In hot brewing, sweeteners and fla ...
See also
*
Mogyoktang
*
Sauna
A sauna (, ), or sudatory, is a small room or building designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these facilities. The steam and high heat make the bathers perspire. A thermometer in a ...
**
Banya
Banya may refer to:
Places
Australia
* Banya, Queensland, a locality in the Sunshine Coast Region, Queensland, Australia
Bulgaria
*Banya, Blagoevgrad Province, a thermal spa and mountain resort in southwest Bulgaria
*Banya, Burgas Prov ...
**
Finnish sauna
The Finnish sauna ( sv, bastu) is a substantial part of Finnish and Estonian culture.
It was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists at the December 17, 2020 meeting of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguardi ...
*
Spa
A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneoth ...
*
Ttaemiri
Ttaemiri (Korean: 때밀이) are the working staff who provide many services at the Jjimjilbang in South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Kor ...
References
Further reading
* Stein, Carol
THE SECRET LA REVISTA. Han-Jeung-Mak
External links
{{commons category, Jjimjilbang
New York Times article
Database of Korean Saunasat Saunascape.com
Seoul Zimzilbang Torontoat Seoul Zimzilbang Toronto
in Vietnam at Temple Leaf Spa Land
South Korean popular culture
Public baths