Old spa towns where many bathhouses draw from the same hot spring, and public foot baths you can use for free. Facts and photos from the Korea Tourism Organization.
Places appear in a new random order on every visit. Nobody pays for a higher spot.
Photo: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL Type 1)Korea’s oldest recorded hot spring, in use for about 1,300 years; Joseon kings including Sejong came here to rest. The water comes out at around 57°C, and more than a hundred inns and bathhouses stand around Onyangoncheon Station on Seoul subway Line 1.
Photo: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL Type 3)A large spa district about 11 km west of central Daejeon, known for silica-rich water at 27–56°C. The free outdoor foot bath in Yuseong Hot Spring Park is open 07:00–22:00 every day.
Photo: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL Type 3)Developed as a spa in 1917; local legend says a wounded crane healed its leg in the water. Sodium bicarbonate water above 45°C feeds the spa hotels and bathhouses grouped in one district.
Photo: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL Type 1)Mildly alkaline water rises from 250 m underground and is piped to the hotels by Chungju city, which manages the spring centrally. A warm stream runs through Multang Park in the middle of town.
Photo: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL Type 1)A spa resort area since 1981, with hotels, condos and bathhouses. Two public foot baths open on weekends and public holidays, 14:00–18:00 (closed in July–August).
Photo: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL Type 1)Known since the Silla period and a designated tourist zone since 1979. Clear, odourless water, with the mountains of the Baekdudaegan behind and the East Sea about half an hour away.
Photo: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL Type 3)A row of seven or eight bathhouses on carbonated spring water. The water comes up at only 25–38°C, so each bathhouse also keeps a heated pool.
Photo: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL Type 3)A spring complex at the foot of Sinbulsan in the ‘Yeongnam Alps’, with alkaline water drawn from 600–800 m. Popular after a day of hiking.
Photo: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL Type 3)About twenty spa inns and a spa land, plus a street of more than sixty restaurants. The Hwasun dolmen sites (UNESCO) and Unjusa temple are nearby.
Photo: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL Type 1)A large free outdoor foot bath with natural spring water at about 40°C; wash your feet at the channel first, and use the air dryers after. Open 07:00–22:00 every day.
Photo: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL Type 1)An outdoor foot bath on Suanbo’s spring water. Open 12:00–20:00 from March to November and 12:00–17:00 from December to February; closed Mondays (Mondays and Tuesdays in winter).
Spring water pours from a dragon-head spout in the old Dongnae spa district, next to Hurshimchung. Open 10:00–17:00; closed Mondays, Tuesdays, 1 January, Seollal and Chuseok.
Photo: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL Type 1)A free covered foot bath on strongly alkaline water (pH 9.7), with a warm pool at about 40°C and a cool one at about 26°C; room for around 100 people. Open 10:00–17:00; closed Mondays and from December to February.
Photo: Korea Tourism Organization (KOGL Type 1)A city park with a seasonal hot spring foot bath that runs 10:00–16:00 in 45-minute sessions; the season changes each year and the bath stops in bad weather.