jjimjilbang

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Korean 찜질방 (jjimjilbang), from 찜질 (jjimjil, “stupe, poultice, heating”) +‎ 방(房) (bang, “room”).

Noun

jjimjilbang (plural jjimjilbang or jjimjilbangs)

1. A type of Korean traditional bathhouse, typically having hot tubs, showers, saunas, and massage tables.
   • 2008, Norbert Paxton, The Rough Guide to Korea, New York, N.Y., London, Delhi: Rough Guides, →ISBN, page 275:

     Fans of jjimjilbangs will find a brand-new one five-minutes' walk north of the bus terminal, on the same main road.

   • 2017 January 2, Richard Morgan, “A Korean Spa Offers Saunas, Bibimbap and a Taste of Home in New Jersey”, in The New York Times‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-07-23:

     Jjimjilbangs have been transplanted to the United States as the Korean-American population has grown in recent decades.

   • 2018 February 12, Alison Freer, “These Korean Spa Mitts Scrub Me to Baby Softness”, in New York‎^[2], New York, N.Y.: New York Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-03-14:

     Within 48 hours of moving to Los Angeles 20-some-odd years ago, I'd already had six people talk my ear off about the city's plethora of jjimjilbang — more commonly known as Korean spas. A good jjimjilbang is a wonderland where you can sit in multiple saunas, stew yourself in a hot tub of medicinal mugwort tea, take a catnap in a room with heated jade floors, and indulge in a myriad of stellar spa treatments. Some jjimjilbang are even open 24 hours a day.

   • 2022 October 4, Kevin Rawlinson, “Meghan attacks Hollywood caricatures of Asian women in film”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎^[3], London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2023-06-18:

     Discussing her own experience of Korean-American culture, Meghan said she and her mother, Doria Ragland, would visit the spa, known as the jjimjilbang, that focuses on relaxing, spending quality time with friends and family.

Further reading

• jjimjilbang on Wikipedia.Wikipedia