Saunas and Jjimjilbangs [찜질방] in Korea

You gotta love Korean bathhouse culture. Sure, it can be a shock at first. *Gasp!* The Nudity! But with an open mind and a free spirit (a touch of near-sightedness doesn't hurt), being naked in a room full of other naked people can quickly become second nature.

When I arrived in Korea 2+ years ago, for example, I never expected that I would ever be able to utter the following statement with a straight face:

Getting a full-body naked scrub-down from a Korean man in his underwear is pretty damn awesome.

Now it's pretty much one of the first things I say when I meet people.

Recently, while visiting a jjimjilbang with a friend, I shared my vision for a website (in English) that catalogued and ranked all of the jjimjilbangs throughout Korea. It would be a place for foreigners to find new and exciting nudist experiences throughout the country - indoor, outdoor, milk baths, tea baths, salt, sodium bicarbonate, whirlpools, massage baths, ice rooms, hot rooms, steam rooms, and, well, should I go on?

Then - today - I found one.

Jjimjilbang and Saunas in Korea

Tagged by location and descriptors like 'nice view' and 'fitness center', the reviews are pretty easy to search, and include plenty of pictures and access information. So far the scope and number of places reviewed looks pretty limited - 8 in Busan, 6 in Daegu, 6 in Seoul, and a few further afield - but it's a great starting point.

If you'd like to contribute reviews to the site, the author - Sophia - has posted her email on the homepage.

So throw off your inhibition and underwear and head for the door - there's a lot of scrubbing to be done.