The season with cold wind that makes you crawl into blankets, physically and psychologically. How about going to a natural hot spring?

It’s the season you have to wear warm clothes and layers. The cold wind that blows through fallen leaves is somehow making our hearts shiver too. How about going to a warm place that will make your whole body melt with heat? The smartphone navigation app ‘Mappy’ introduces great places to check out while traveling Korea’s best natural hot springs.

Ganghwa Seokmodo mineral hot spring for the West Sea sunset in the open air

Seokmodo mineral hot spring is very accessible; it’s only an hour and a half away from Seoul (photography source. Ganghwa-gun).

There’s a place, just an hour and a half away from Seoul, where you can enjoy an open-air hot spring with a great view of the sea. It’s the Seokmodo mineral hot spring, located south of the Seokmodo Mt. Nakga, Samsan-myeon, Ganghwa-gun, Incheon-si. You could only access Seokmodo island through boats in the past, but with the opening of Seokmodaegyo bridge in 2017, you can drive there now. Here you are able to enjoy a hot spring bath filled with mineral hot spring water which is extracted from the 460m granite bedrock at a temperature of 51℃ throughout all seasons. Water is rich with calcium, potassium, magnesium, strontium, and sodium chloride, which helps a lot with skin care. The outdoor hot spring is especially close to the sea and boasts a great spectacle. It’s also a popular sunset spot as you can enjoy an outdoor hot spring while admiring the reddening setting sun.

Rock-carved Seated Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva on the Eyebrow Rock is the highlight of your Bomunsa Temple visit (photography source. Bomunsa Temple).

Bomunsa Temple, famous for being one of the 3 big Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva sites is near the Seokmodo mineral hot spring. The Bomunsa Temple is a temple located on the hill of Seokmodo Mt. Nakga, with a breathtaking view of the ocean. The steep way from the Iljumoon door to the front yard of the main temple allows you to take in both the forest and the ocean landscapes simultaneously. The Rock-carved Seated Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva on the Eyebrow Rock is definitely the highlight of Bomunsa Temple, so it would be a good idea to drop by after dipping into a hot spring to cleanse your soul.

Mappy will guide you to Ganghwa Seokmodo mineral hot spring

Address: 645-23, Maeeum-ri, Samsan-myeon, Ganghwa-gun, Incheon-si, Republic of Korea

Living up to the name of ‘the king’s hot spring’, Onyang hot spring

Asan-si is one of the most well-known hot spring cities in Korea (photography source. Asan-si).

Asan is a city of hot springs, which includes its 3 big ones of Asan, Onyang, and Dogo. Onyang hot spring, located in Oncheon (hot spring)-dong is the oldest hot spring on the record. It was called ‘Tangjeng (湯井)’ during the Baekje dynasty and ‘Onsu(溫水)’ during the Goryeo dynasty before finally getting the name ‘Onyang(溫陽)’ during the King Sejong time in the Chosun dynasty. It’s also called the ‘hot spring of royalty’ as a palace was built here for the kings of Chosun dynasty such as Sejong, Sejo, and Jeongjo to rest and treat their illness. It’s a high temperature hot spring with water temperature between 44℃~60℃; it boasts the weak alkaline water of great quality and ample volume.

Onyang Folk Museum is recommended to those who desire some culture (photography source. Asan Folk Museum).

Are there only hot springs in Onyang? Of course not! Onyang Folk Museum lies only about 1.5~2km away from the Onyang hot spring station. If it’s your first time at the Onyang Folk Museum, you will be surprised at least twice. The first is by the amazing landscape, and the second is the solid exhibition and experience events, which are recognized as one of the best in Korea. Gujeong Art Center, which was built with bricks made from Asan red clay, will remind you of a traditional tiled-roof house of Chungcheong-do. This place is recommended to those who wish to enjoy both a hot spring and some culture.

Mappy will guide you to Onyang hot spring.

Address: Onyang Tourist Hotel, 1459, Oncheon-daero, Asan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, Republic of Korea

Korea’s first hot spring, Suanbo hot spring

According to records, Suanbo is Korea’s first natural elution hot spring (photography source. Hanhwa Resort).

The name Suanbo will make many of you recall hot springs. The first record of Suanbo hot spring was found in 'Goryeosa' during the rule of King Munjong in the Chosun dynasty, and with that many literatures talks of the place such as 'the Annals of the Joseon Dynasty', 'Dongguk Yeoji Seungram', 'Yeojidoseo', 'Cheongguseonpyodo', and 'Daedongyeojido', Suanbo is located on the northwest mountain side of Joryeong, which is known as the Alps of Chungbuk. Just imaging dipping into the warm hot spring water, surrounded by mountains, looking up at the stars. Don’t you think it will instantly warm your dry and cold body and mind?

Mireukdaewon Stone Temple Site was found only in 1976 (photography source. Chungju-si).

A 15-minute drive from the Suanbo Hanhwa Resort will get you to Mireukdaewon Stone Temple Site in Chunju, which holds the spirit of the era of Three States. Buildings have collapsed, and what’s left is only a vast site, a few stone towers and main Buddahs, but it’s enough to guess the authority this place had in the past. It’s also a place of the legend of Prince Maeui and his sister Princess Deokju who had lost their country. When Shilla collapsed, Prince Maeui wandered around, feeling empty, and tried to get some sleep here at the Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva temple under the Haneuljae when he dreamt of Avalokitesvara Guan Yin who told him to build a temple across the hill and a Buddah that faces the big dipper. We recommend walking along the Haneuljae behind the 3-tier stone tower of the legend before taking off to a hot spring.

Mappy will guide you to Suanbo hot spring.

Address: Hanhwa Resort Suanbo hot spring, 321-36, Suanbo-ro, Suanbo-myeon, Chungju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, Republic of Korea

Carbon & alkaline hot springs at the same time at Yangyang Osaek hot spring

You can enjoy carbon & alkaline hot springs at the same time at Yangyang Osaek hot spring (photography source. Yangyang Osaek GreenYard).

Thanks to the highway that connects Seoul and Gangwon-do, it’s not as difficult to visit Gangwon-do as it used to be. It’s easier to go and see the valleys colored with autumn leaves and the beautiful ocean. If you go down the curvy roads along Hangyeryung (the former Osaekryung), you will meet Joojeongol, a place known for its beautiful autumn leaves. And at the end of Joojeongol, you will find Osaek hot spring, where you can enjoy the Osaek mineral water of five flavors. At the Osaek hot spring, you can enjoy both the bubbly carbon hot spring as well as the alkaline hot spring which softens your skin at the same time; it was once called the beauty hot spring as people said that bathing in this hot spring water would make you beautiful.

You can see the open waters of the East Sea anytime you visit Hajodae (photography source. Yangyang-gun).

After enjoying paradise in a green mountainous region, it’s time to take in some blue with your eyes. This is Hajodae, where fantastic, rocky cliffs and old pine trees are dotted around the shoreline. It’s named after the two founding contributors of Chosun, ‘Haryun’ and ‘Jojoon’ as the two stayed here for a while in the past. The Hajodae is well-known as a great sunrise spot along with Naksansa Uisangdae. If you cross the pedestrian overpass from the Hajodae and walk into the cliff for about 10m, you will find an unmanned lighthouse. It’s standing tall on the shoreline rocky cliff with the old pine trees; here you get to see the endless East Sea. With Yangyang Osaek hot spring and Hajodae together, you will feel as if you could be born again as a beautiful person inside and out.

Mappy will guide you to Yangyang Osaek hot spring.

Address: Osaek GreenYard, 34, Daecheongbong-gil, Seo-myeon, Yangyang-gun, Gangwon-do, Republic of Korea

Enjoy a woodland walk and a hot spring bath at the same time at Uljin Deokgu hot spring.

Deokgu hot spring is currently the only natural elution hot spring in Korea (photography source. Deokgu hot spring resort Spa World).

On the Mt. Eungbon hill, located between Uljin, Gyeongbuk and Samcheok, Gangwon, lies Korea’s only natural elution hot spring, Deokgu hot spring. It’s not pumped up from underground; the hot spring water with a yearly average temperature of 43℃ will burst out into the open air all throughout the year. The Deokgu hot spring, which is ‘Gyeongbuk’s no. 1 natural recuperation hot spring’ recognized by the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, is also a place to enjoy a woodland walk and a hot spring bath at the same time as it is located amidst handsome natural landscape.

Sungryu Cave holds a long history inside, over 250 million years (photography source. Uljin-gun).

There are some sights you will never get to see normally, which will make the trip down to Uljin worthwhile. One of them is Sungryu Cave, which has been formed over 250 million years. Mt. Seonyu, where the Sungryu Cave is, is only 25 minutes by car from the Deokgu hot spring. It’s a limestone cave that was created 250 million years ago and got its name which means the place where a sacred Buddah is in when a Buddah was relocated to the cave during the Japanese Invasion of Korea in 1592. As it has been here for a long while, it’s seen by some famous visitors. Don’t miss the beautiful writing and drawings left here by such visitors from the era of the Three States through the Chosun dynasty.

Mappy will guide you to Deokgu hot spring.

Address Deokgu hot spring resort Spa World, 924, Deokgu Oncheon-ro, Buk-myeon, Uljin-gun, Gyeongsangbuk-do, Republic of Korea

We are at the beginning of winter, and the weather is getting colder every day. Here we have some great natural hot springs and places to visit nearby which will warm our body and hearts. It’s fun to get on a plane and seek out exotic places, but how about warming up with friends and family this winter at a hot spring? Leave the safe route to Mappy!