Biggest jjimjilbang in Korea 2026: Busan's Spa Land Centum City, 17,000-20,000 won entry, next to Centum City Station

Korea Tourism Times received a reader question through its "Ask the Newsroom" form: "Where is Korea's biggest jjimjilbang?" A jjimjilbang is a Korean-style 24-hour sauna and relaxation complex that combines hot baths, heated-floor sleeping rooms and a cafeteria under one roof. The reader asked that "biggest" only be used when backed by official evidence such as floor area or capacity, and that candidates be compared if the evidence conflicts. This paper checked ticket-seller listings, official records and news reports to answer.

At a glance: Spa Land Centum City, Busan: weekday adult fee around 17,000 won, weekend around 20,000 won (per a 2026 Korea travel-guide listing, subject to change), open 06:00-23:00 (last entry 22:00), address 35 Centum-nam-daero, Haeundae-gu, Busan, 1st floor of Shinsegae Department Store Centum City, next to Centum City Station on Busan Metro Line 2. Aqua Field Goyang, Gyeonggi: jjimjil-spa adult fee 26,000 won (up to 6 hours, 5,000 won per extra hour), open 10:00-22:00, address 1955 Goyang-daero, Deogyang-gu, Goyang, 4th floor of Starfield Goyang, walkable from Samsong Station on Seoul Subway Line 3.

Jjimjilbang is a bathing culture unique to Korea. A clothed, mixed-gender lounge coexists in the same building with fully gender-separated hot-spring baths and saunas. Unlike a typical Japanese onsen, where men and women bathe nude in separate baths, Korean jjimjilbang let men and women relax together, fully clothed in the uniform handed out at check-in, in a shared lounge area -- that is the biggest cultural difference. Snacking on sikhye (a sweet traditional rice drink) and maekbanseok-gyeran (eggs roasted in a kiln sauna) at the jjimjilbang snack counter is another custom found only at Korean facilities.

The phrase "Korea's biggest" needs care. Shinsegae Department Store Centum City, which houses Spa Land, was certified by Guinness World Records in 2009 as the "largest department store" by retail floor area (293,905 square meters) -- but that record covers the whole department store, not Spa Land itself. Spa Land is described as spanning two floors with 18 hot-spring baths and 13 themed jjimjilbang rooms, but no official floor area or capacity figure for the spa alone could be confirmed. Older sources described Dragon Hill Spa in Yongsan, Seoul, as larger by total floor area, but reports say it has been shut since the Covid-19 pandemic and its official website is currently unreachable, so its operating status could not be confirmed. Weighing the confirmed evidence, Spa Land Centum City is best described as one of Korea's largest-class jjimjilbang facilities among those confirmed to be open, with Aqua Field Goyang offered as a comparable large Gyeonggi-area facility that pairs a jjimjilbang with a water park.

Without this information, first-time visitors can lose real money and time. Arriving at Incheon International Airport late at night (22:00-04:00) and taking a taxi into Seoul can cost roughly 60,000-80,000 won once the 20-40% late-night surcharge and airport tolls are added. Spending the night at a jjimjilbang instead covers a shower, sleep and rest for about 15,000-26,000 won, a significant saving for travelers who have not booked a hotel.

Here is how it works. Admission usually includes a rental jjimjilbang uniform; guests store their clothes in a locker room, change into the uniform, and move between the lounge and the gender-separated hot-spring baths. In the baths, bathing nude, not in swimwear, is standard practice, and men's and women's areas are completely separate. The clothed lounge -- and, at Aqua Field, the water park -- is mixed-gender, worn in uniform or swimwear. In the sleeping room, guests nap on the heated floor using a wooden pillow, and many facilities allow a full 24-hour stay. Tattoo rules vary by facility; a ticket-seller listing for Spa Land notes that entry may be restricted for large tattoos covering the whole body, both arms, both legs, or the full front or back, so it is worth checking before visiting. Neither facility's official materials clearly confirm whether foreign-issued cards are accepted, so try a Visa or Mastercard but carry some cash as backup.

Travelers who land late at night at Incheon or Gimhae with no hotel booked will find a jjimjilbang a practical option. Airport buses and subway trains into Seoul from Incheon generally stop running around midnight and don't resume until early morning, so many travelers spend that gap at an airport-area or downtown jjimjilbang for about 15,000-20,000 won and move on with the first service at dawn. At Gimhae, late-night taxi fares also climb, so an overnight stay at a jjimjilbang near the airport or in downtown Busan, followed by the first bus or subway the next morning, cuts both lodging and late-night transport costs. Sleeping rooms are shared, though, and storage for belongings is limited, so keep valuables on you.

This article is published together in Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese editions of Korea Tourism Times. Fees and hours were checked as of October 10, 2026, and vary by facility and ticket seller, so confirm current prices and operating status with each facility's official channel before visiting.