Seshin (세신) is a full-body scrub done by a professional, the seshinsa (세신사), on a table or mat in a corner of the bath hall. You soak first so the skin softens, lie down naked, and for twenty to thirty minutes someone works over every part of you with a rough mitt, rolling off the dead skin Koreans call ttae (때). It is not a massage. If you want it gentler, you can ask.
At an ordinary bathhouse it cost about ₩20,000–40,000 in 2025. Private one-person scrub shops charged ₩50,000–110,000 in 2023, and hotel and private spa courses about ₩154,000–166,000 in 2026. This guide covers both tiers, the steps, the phrases that matter on the table, and what Korean dermatologists say about how often skin should be scrubbed at all.
What ttae is, and what comes off
Ttae is a mix of dust, dead skin cells, sweat and sebum. According to two university-hospital dermatologists quoted by a Korean newspaper in 2007, what a hard scrub actually removes is closer to the stratum corneum, the skin's protective outer layer. Their advice: people who scrub habitually should do it only about once every three or four months, soak briefly rather than long, and go gently. Scrubbing harder causes inflammation and speeds up aging, and the belief that scrubbing keeps skin young has no scientific support.
So treat seshin as an occasional ritual. Many Koreans book one as a New Year ritual, and records suggest that scrubbing after bathing is older than the Joseon period (1392–1910).
The Italy towel
The tool is the Italy towel (이태리타월), a small, rough mitt, usually green or pink, made of viscose rayon. It was developed in Busan in the 1960s (one source gives 1967) at the textile company Hanil (한일직물). Fabric imported from Italy proved too rough for ordinary towels and ideal for scrubbing. The inventor is usually named as Kim Pil-gon (김필곤, died 2001), though the attribution is disputed. He registered nine bath-product utility models between 1966 and 1969, but the plain rectangular towel itself appears never to have been patented. As of 2018, four "이태리타올" trademarks were still in force.
How people use it differs by sex and region. A National Folk Museum curator's fieldwork found that men wrap the Italy towel over a hand towel while women use a glove style. Men's towels are short in Seoul and Gyeonggi but long in Gangwon, Jeonnam and Gyeongnam. Some Busan men's baths still have an automatic back-scrubbing machine, reportedly built in 1981 by a local man, Son Jeong-gi. Professional scrubbers appeared in the 1960s by one account and the 1970s by another, after bathhouses spread in the 1960s.
Tourists buy the mitt too. Annual sales exceed ₩10 billion, and the Daiso store in Myeong-dong, where about 70% of customers are foreign, reported Italy towel sales up 30% in the second half of 2025.
Who scrubs you
Always someone of your own sex. The law requires staff inside bathing, changing and sweat rooms to match the sex of that side, and bans opposite-sex bathing assistants. In one Seoul neighborhood bath described in 2020, the men's scrubber also looked after the boiler and repairs, and the scrubbers sold drinks.
In a public bath the seshinsa is usually not an employee. A 2023 report says scrubbers rent the table from the owner, with a deposit of ₩10–20 million plus about ₩1 million a month, and keep the scrub income. In private one-person shops the revenue is split with the owner. Foreign demand has reached both: the one-person shop Damda, near Hongdae, reports that about 40% of its customers come from abroad.
Step by step
- Ask. Find the scrubber at the table or ask the bath-hall staff. If words fail, point at the service board and make a scrubbing motion. The charge goes on your wristband account, and you pay at the counter when you leave. You may have to wait while the person before you finishes.
- Soak. Soak in the warm pool (온탕) so the skin softens. In the 2026 accounts we used, soaks ran from 15 minutes at a private spa to about 30 minutes at a hotel.
- Lie face up. The scrubber usually starts at the feet and works up the legs to the body: front first, then each side, then your back. You will hear 뒤집어 (flip over) and 옆으로 (on your side).
- Second pass. At the spa and hotel described in 2026, a second, lighter pass cleared what was left, followed by a wash. A bathhouse scrubber uses the mitt and a dome of solid soap; one 2026 account at a Seoul bathhouse took about an hour, including an oil massage.
- Add-ons. An oil massage is the usual extra in public baths. Private shops and hotels add a warm-milk pour, a cucumber or sheet mask, a hair pack, shampoo and scalp massage, and a drink afterward.
- After. Rinse, dry off, and put moisturizer on within three minutes. That three-minute figure is the dermatologists'.
No source we found records a set phrase for ordering a scrub. We say 세신 받을게요 (seshin badeulgeyo, I'd like a scrub); pointing works just as well.
Gentle or hard
Intensity can be changed. At one Gangnam spa, guests are told to ask for a different towel to change it. Anywhere, you can simply say so.
Gently, please. Say it as soon as it is too much.
Harder, please. Dermatologists warn that harder scrubbing inflames the skin.
What it costs
Prices are Seoul-centric because that is where the published figures are. For Busan we have a single 2026 guide figure, and nothing dated for other cities. By law the price board (목욕요금표) must be at reception, so check it first. Entry prices are in the prices and hours guide.
| Where | Price | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Public bath, one Seoul neighborhood | ₩12,000 men, ₩18,000 women | Jan 2020 |
| Public bath or jjimjilbang | ₩20,000–30,000 | 2023; early 2026 |
| Ordinary bathhouse (Korea JoongAng Daily) | ₩20,000–40,000 | Aug 2025 |
| Sparex Dongdaemun, men's scrub | from ₩25,000 | Oct 2026, resale listing |
| Haeundae Oncheon Center, Busan | about ₩30,000 | Sep 2026, travel guide |
| Massage add-on, one Seoul bath | ₩25,000 (face) to ₩50,000 (full body) | Jan 2020 |
| One-person shop outside Gangnam | from ₩50,000; ₩90,000–100,000 with massage | Feb 2023 |
| One-person shop, Gangnam | ₩80,000–110,000 | Feb 2023 |
| Hotel or spa course, Seoul | ₩154,000–166,300 | Jul 2026 |
A one-person shop session takes 75–85 minutes in total, in a private room, by reservation, and shops are usually women only. A hotel course runs 70–85 minutes at roughly four times the price of a bathhouse scrub.
How much is it? Point at the line on the board you mean.
Who should skip it
The 2007 dermatologists' list of people who should not scrub: those with diabetes, high blood pressure, lymphoma, kidney disease (prone to dry eczema), atopic dermatitis, dry skin or vitiligo (백반증). A 2004 health feature adds people with acne on the days after a dermatology treatment, and advises against heavy scrubbing before the sauna: scrub after it, gently. We found no published guidance on sunburn or fresh tattoos; we would not put either under the mitt. If you have a heart or blood-pressure condition, the hot soak before the scrub matters too; see heat, cold and your body.
Tipping and table manners
Tipping is not customary. A 2025 etiquette guide says so, and none of the first-person accounts we used mention a tip. Payment goes on the wristband. A clear 감사합니다 (gamsahamnida, thank you) at the end is enough.
Manners are simple, and the etiquette guide covers the rest of the hall. Wash at the seated showers before you soak. Be at the table when called. Lie where you are placed and move when told. Keep your voice down; the table is in a shared hall. Conversation is optional. Note the hours: at 24-hour jjimjilbang the scrub stops during the nightly cleaning (Sparex Dongdaemun: 01:00–03:00).
The word for the feeling afterward:
I feel so refreshed.