As COVID-19 Restrictions Lift, Gas Bills Soar... Bathhouses Wear a 'Sad Face'

Indoor Mask Mandate Lifted on the 30th
Middle-aged and Individuals Mainly Visit Bathhouses
City Gas Rates Up 38.4% YoY per 1MJ
Local Bathhouses "Barely Breaking Even"

A neighborhood bathhouse located in the Cheongnyangni area of Seoul. Ahead of the indoor mask mandate being lifted on the 30th, mask-wearing is still being advised.
Photo by Gong Byungseon mydillon@

Around noon on the 25th, when the mercury dropped sharply, Jeon Gu-yeon (79), who works early mornings at the Seoul Cheongnyangni Agricultural and Marine Products Market, finished her work and entered a nearby public bathhouse. After receiving a towel from the bathhouse staff and undressing, she headed straight to the hot bath. Feeling as if her body, frozen from the fatigue of early work and the cold, was melting all at once, she expressed satisfaction, saying, "Now I can finally live." Not only Jeon but also merchants and elderly people around the Cheongnyangni market repeatedly opened the bathhouse door and came in. Within about 10 minutes, more than 10 customers had visited the bathhouse. Jeon said, "They say bathhouses are high-risk places for COVID-19 transmission, but soon we won't even be wearing masks," adding, "Unlike one or two years ago, recently, the number of people warming up in bathhouses has increased significantly." Although the number of customers has recently increased sharply, the bathhouse owner’s expression was not very bright. Concerns about heating costs and other expenses came first. Kim (55), who runs the bathhouse, lamented, "We need to earn a lot during the cold winter, but after paying fixed costs like heating and electricity bills, there is almost nothing left," adding, "Even if COVID-19 ends, I think it will be difficult to survive."

Public bathhouses, hit hard by COVID-19, are now facing the problem of high inflation. Following steep rises in gas and electricity prices, this trend is expected to continue this year, weighing heavily on bathhouse owners. For them, COVID-19 was like a 'disaster.' As bathhouses were identified as major transmission sites for COVID-19, people stopped visiting altogether. According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the number of public bathhouses decreased by about 11% during the COVID-19 period, from 6,729 in 2019 to 6,012 last year. Although the number of customers has somewhat increased recently with the decline of COVID-19, it is still not possible to see a wide range of age groups as before. Visits are more frequent by individuals, especially middle-aged people, rather than families.

Han (37), who operates a bathhouse in Hwikyung-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, said, "When the COVID-19 spread was severe, there were only about 1 to 2 customers a day, but now it has increased to about 20 to 30, so business seems to have somewhat recovered," adding, "Especially around the Lunar New Year holiday, the number of customers increased by about 30% compared to usual, making us feel the lifting of quarantine measures."

Customer Recovery... But Rapidly Rising City Gas and Electricity Charges

Ticket booth of a closed public bathhouse in the Dongdaemun-gu area of Seoul. / Photo by Gong Byung-sun mydillon@

However, the rapidly rising costs are a major burden. Most of the bathhouse expenses are spent on gas and electricity bills used to heat water and maintain facilities. As key operating costs for bathhouses have recently risen sharply, most bathhouse owners are distressed. According to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the recent city gas price increased by 38.4% year-on-year to 19.69 won per megajoule (MJ, a unit of gas heat energy). Due to record cold waves and increased demand for heating, gas bills expected to be issued next month are anticipated to rise further. Additionally, electricity rates are expected to see the largest increase since the late 1970s oil shock, with a 9.5% rise just this month.

The situation is even more difficult for small neighborhood bathhouses barely managing to operate. Large bathhouses can operate alongside other businesses such as gyms or saunas, but small neighborhood bathhouses can only accept bath customers. Lee (66), who runs a neighborhood bathhouse in Jegi-dong, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, explained, "People flock to nearby large saunas or gyms, so unless they are in urgent need, they don't visit neighborhood bathhouses," adding, "With sharply rising costs like gas bills, this month we barely avoided operating at a loss." He continued, "When summer comes and we have to run air conditioners, the electricity bill burden will double, so we expect to face an even more desperate situation," sighing, "Customers are decreasing, and there is no other way, so it’s just hopeless."