“Jjimjilbang experience” ranks among the top activities preferred by foreign visitors to Korea. (Photo provided by the Korea Tourism Organization)
SEOUL, Sept. 25 (Korea Bizwire) — When a young Taiwanese tourist emerged from the steaming heat of a jjimjilbang in Seoul last week, she laughed and admitted the traditional Korean sauna had been “hot but fun.” She said she came with her mother after watching the hit Netflix animation K-Pop Demon Hunters, curious to experience Korean culture firsthand.
Korea’s everyday spaces — once overlooked by foreign visitors — are increasingly being recast as must-see destinations as the global K-culture boom expands beyond K-pop concerts and drama filming locations. Saunas, bathhouses and even herbal medicine clinics are drawing foreign tourists eager for immersive, “lived-in” experiences featured in popular media.
With the K-culture wave fueled by the Netflix animated film K-Pop Demon Hunters, jjimjilbangs, bathhouses, and traditional Korean medicine clinics are emerging as new attractions for foreign tourists visiting Korea. (Photo provided by Netflix)
Jjimjilbangs Become Social Media Sensations
At one well-known 24-hour jjimjilbang in eastern Seoul, nearly half the customers on a recent Monday appeared to be foreigners. The sauna, styled after a traditional hanok, offers hot rooms, ice chambers and rest lounges where guests don the signature orange towels folded into “sheep heads.”
Visitors from Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and beyond lounged on heated floors, drank sweet rice punch, cracked roasted eggs and streamed their experiences online. Videos of foreigners staying overnight in Korean saunas, trying scrubs and sampling snacks have gone viral on YouTube and TikTok. One popular clip boasting more than 7 million views tagged Korean exfoliation as the “best body care routine.”
Japanese tourist Nagisa, 32, said the experience differed from saunas at home: “It felt uniquely Korean, and overall very satisfying.”
Foreign tour groups experience herbal foot baths at the Seoul K-Medi Center in Dongdaemun District, Seoul. (Yonhap)
Scrubs and Spas Draw Enthusiastic Reviews
Korean-style body scrubs — once an intimate, routine ritual — have become another sought-after attraction. Social media users describe feeling “like a newborn” after the intense exfoliation. Hashtags like #koreanscrub and #kbeauty now accompany countless before-and-after posts.
A jjimjilbang is a health facility centered on a low-temperature sauna, typically heated to around 50–90°C, that is intense, hot, and dry, traditionally using pine firewood to warm a round, stone-built dome kiln. (Photo provided by Gyeonggi Tourism Organization)
Herbal Medicine Clinics See a Tourist Influx
The K-Pop Demon Hunters effect has even extended to traditional medicine. Clinics report a surge in foreign patients, many from Japan and Southeast Asia, seeking acupuncture, cupping and herbal remedies. Some say cost advantages over home markets add to the appeal.
At Seoul K-Medi Center in Dongdaemun, where herbal foot baths and massages are paired with photo zones styled after scenes from K-Pop Demon Hunters, American tour groups have become regulars. On a recent visit, elderly tourists soaked their feet in seasonal herbal baths, praising both the calming atmosphere and the Korean food that followed.
Center staff say weekend crowds can top 200 visitors a day, with most being foreigners.
Turning Everyday Culture Into Global Tourism
For many tourists, these venues are less about luxury and more about authenticity. “It was the most relaxing 24 hours of my trip,” one American YouTuber wrote after staying overnight in a sauna.
What began as viral challenges and pop culture cameos is now reshaping Korea’s tourism industry, turning local rituals — from sauna snacks to herbal foot baths — into global attractions.
A jjimjilbang, or hanjeungmak (蒸氣房 or 汗蒸幕), is a traditional Korean sauna. The word “jjim” in jjimjil refers to the act of sweating out illnesses by immersing the body in hot water, sand, or springs. A jjimjilbang, in essence, is a modern bathhouse combined with heated rooms for such treatments. The photo shows a typical Korean jjimjilbang. (Yonhap)
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
