A fresh start begins with a bath

01

The holiday bath

For many Koreans, going to a public bathhouse with family before Seollal (Lunar New Year) or Chuseok is a familiar memory. After a warm soak and someone scrubbing your back, you changed into clean clothes, and the holiday felt like it had begun.

Every family is different, but for some, that pre-holiday bath is still a ritual they keep.

02

Mogyokjaegye

Korean has a word for getting ready this way: mogyokjaegye (목욕재계). It means washing your body and putting your thoughts and conduct in order before an important occasion.

A holiday bath isn’t necessarily religious, but it carries the same idea: meeting a new chapter with a clean body and a clear head.

03

Water and renewal elsewhere

Other cultures tie water to renewal too. In Japanese Shinto, misogi uses water for purification. Islam has ghusl, a full-body ritual wash. In Judaism, tevilah is immersion in a ritual bath called a mikveh.

Each has its own meaning and practice, and in each, washing means more than getting clean.

04

“I feel like a new person”

At a Korean bathhouse you can add one more step: seshin, a professional body scrub. You soak in warm water first, then a trained attendant does the scrubbing. After the last rinse your skin feels smooth, and sometimes your mood feels lighter too.

Koreans often say “I feel like a new person” after seshin, and it’s close to how it feels. You walk out having left a little of the week’s weight behind.

You don’t need a holiday. The end of a long week, the start of something new, or a day when you just want time to yourself is reason enough.

05

Book a seshin

Scrub shops where you can book a one-on-one seshin.