The real charm of a jjimjilbang lies in moving between different themed rooms, warming and cooling your body along the way. Sweating it out in a scorching room near 70°C, then stepping into an ice-cold chill room, is an experience all its own.
Hot, Then Cold: The Fun of Extremes
Jjimjilbangs usually offer several heated rooms with different temperatures and materials, such as ocher rooms, salt rooms, and charcoal kilns, along with a chill room lined with ice on the opposite side. Moving from a hot room, where you've worked up a sweat, into the icy chill room brings an instant, refreshing cool-down. This temperature contrast is often the moment that leaves the strongest impression on foreign visitors experiencing a jjimjilbang for the first time. In fact, the chill room is often the most popular spot in many jjimjilbangs.
How to Enjoy It
1. Choose a heated room you like and stay in for about 10–15 minutes to sweat it out 2. If it feels too hot or you feel dizzy, step out and rest right away 3. Move to the cool chill room to bring your body temperature down 4. Drink plenty of water and alternate between the hot rooms and the chill room
Tips
If it's your first time, start with the room at the lowest temperature and adjust gradually Heated rooms can cause dizziness, so it's best not to overdo it — go in briefly and multiple times To prevent dehydration, rehydrate with water or sikhye each time you move between rooms
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