Korean for the jjimjilbang

Many places charge less for the baths alone, 목욕 (mogyok), than for the baths and the jjimjilbang area together, so the desk may ask which you want. Some add a charge for staying overnight. You take off your shoes and lock them in a small locker at the entrance before you reach the desk. In return for the fee you get a locker key, usually on a wristband, towels and a set of clothes to wear in the shared area.

The baths are single-sex and everyone is naked; swimming costumes are not worn. You wash thoroughly at the seated showers before getting into any pool, you keep towels out of the water, and long hair is tied up. A few places post rules against large tattoos, though most say nothing about them.

The shared area is mixed, so you must wear the T-shirt and shorts you were given, the 찜질복 (jjimjilbok), often in different colours for men and women. The heated rooms range from warm to very hot, and there is often a cold room too; people lie on the floor with a towel under their head, sometimes folded into the 'sheep's head' shape that has become the jjimjilbang's unofficial emblem. Sleeping rooms, 수면실, are often separate for men and women, and are quiet.

The body scrub, 세신 (sesin), is done by an attendant in the bath area with a rough mitt, and takes off a surprising amount of skin; it is priced separately and paid for there. The classic snacks are 식혜 (sikye), a sweet, cold rice drink, and eggs baked in the hot rooms until the whites turn brown. At many places, snacks and extras are charged to the number on your locker key and settled at the desk on the way out.