척산온천휴양촌 — Hotel in Sokcho-si

This was our first time going into an oriental “spa” or “hot spring” and we were not prepared to be naked! This place obviously gets really busy because the parking lots are HUGE. Everything is in Korean, nothing in English at all except a small sign that is in partial English to discuss rates. Staff speaks zero English. It all works out fine though because even though they don’t speak English, they still help the lost looking along. It was 9,000KW per person for the hot springs and an additional 6,000KW for the sauna. We did just the hot springs. You get a locker number for shoes and the same locker number in your locker room for your clothes. The women go downstairs and the men upstairs - there is no co-ed area here that we could find. Which is ok, because you are NAKED. For women, you go downstairs into a huge locker room and the attendant immediately scooped me up because I must have looked utterly lost as I watched naked women of all ages walking around. She showed me my locker, the towels and the entrance. Once you get undressed, you enter the spa. Not sure if they were hot springs or not - imagine just a bunch of shallow, hot pools. They had electric temp readings above each pool - ranging from 38C to 41C. There were separate sections for ones with jets (my favorite after long hiking!), ones with high pressured shower heads for your shoulders (also amazing!), then just various temp shallow pools, an area to lie down on the floor with the wooden block under your head and nap, an area where all the older ladies were scrubbing and grooming away while sitting down and finally, the massage corner. I wished i had brought money to get a massage - lesson learned! The most expensive thing was 12,000KW (no idea what it was, all in Hangul). But it all looked glorious. Then I discovered the outside pools - and this was my favorite part. It was all undercover of pagodas and had nice landscaping. There were several hot pools, a laying down area with heated stones to lay on, and lounge chair things. I went back inside and used the steam room and the dry room (then I realized that maybe this was the sauna part that I was supposed to pay extra for???). Finally, i showered up, used the pay hair dryer to dry off the hair, and got dressed and met my hubby back upstairs. While it was not what we expected, it was a really relaxing way to end a day of rough hiking and ease our sore muscles. We will do it again but be a little less cultured shocked next time! No pics...

Warning to westerners: you will be naked!

This hot spring / spa is popular! The overflow parking lots are huge. On this September weekend it wasn’t too bad. Full of hikers (including us!). When you go in there is one small sign in English. We did the hot springs for 9,000KW each. You can get a family room for 3 HRs for 60,000KW for private soak. But then you would miss a cool experience.

Women go downstairs, men up. Sounds like mens’ experience very similar after discussing with the hubby. Locker room is huge, the attendant saw me looking lost and befuddled and despite no English, showed me my designated locker, the towels and the entrance. There are multiple pools I’ve various temps ranging from 38-41C. Each is marked. Some have jets (my fav!), some were for the neck (amazing). You could also lay down on the floor with a head block and nap (glorious!). Then I discovered the outdoor pools. Two pools outside under a pagoda with nice surrounds / landscaping. Another area to lay down and some teak lounge chairs.

Perfect way to experience a culture and relax at the same time. No one there was shy about their bodies so you get comfortable really fast! Sorry no pictures obviously!

Super clean facility! You can also get a massage for...

So this place is pretty large and attracts many, many customers. Sort of place with staff direct cars to open parking spaces. Went on a Saturday around 10am, and decided which bath to go into based on where there was space. Very large and spacious, the men’s bathhouse was on the second floor, and had large windows with a fantastic view of Seorak Mountains and plenty of sunlight pouring in. Although crowed, there were many baths - 2 cold baths, 2 hot baths, one “body temperature” bath, 1 sitting bath with jets for massaging. Strangely there were hardly any temperature displays anywhere. Best part was an outdoor bath that I would guess was at 37C. Very nice on a cold February morning, and nice addition as outdoor bathes are not very common in Korea. Back inside there was a dry and wet sauna and a body scrubbing area. Finally, the place was in very good condition...