5 Korean Beauty Treatments In Seoul And Where To Try Them

From traditional body scrubs to ear seeding, book yourself in for a different kind of beauty self-care on your next trip.

Korean Beauty Treatments, seoul beauty treatments — Photos: iStock / Getty Images Plus, Moment / Getty Images

By Vanessa Chia - published 27 Apr 2026

When it comes to beauty treatments in Seoul, the first thing that often comes to mind is aesthetic treatments that you’d get done at the doctor’s office.

But Seoul is more than just the beauty capital for aesthetic treatments and plastic surgeries. After all, it’s the land of K-beauty.

Here are five beauty treatments that you can consider on your next visit to Seoul, based on the personal experience of editors and beauty insiders, as well as online research and reviews, so you can better prepare yourself on what to expect.

1. Korean Traditional Body Scrub

If you’ve always wanted to try a traditional bath soak and scrub at a jjimjilbang in Korea but don’t feel comfortable parading around naked among a whole bunch of strangers, we’ve got you.

There are bath spas with private rooms where you can enjoy your soak and scrub away from prying eyes.

What it is: Known as “seshin”, this traditional Korean body exfoliation service not only removes dead skin but also boosts circulation, and will give you the smoothest, softest skin of your life. For real.

And the best bit of doing it at a private space? Besides a soak, scrub and hair wash, some places even offer facial and massage services for a complete top-to-toe pampering session.

Try it at: Damda Spa

What to expect: After being shown to your private room, you’ll be asked to remove your clothes and take a short (usually 15 minutes) soak in the tub. Your therapist will then come in (don’t worry, she’s clothed) and get you to climb onto the bed where she will use a specialised, textured mitt to scrub your body all over, including in areas where the sun has never shone on.

And while the exfoliation might feel intense, just trust the process. Of course, you don’t have to suffer in silence—let the therapist know if it’s too much, and she will dial down her enthusiastic scrubbing.

Once done, you get up and rinse off, before jumping back onto the bed for a hair wash, followed by a quick facial, before a milky lotion is massaged all over to hydrate and soothe the skin.

Here’s the fun bit: You dry off not only with a towel, but also by standing on a nifty device that blows warm air upwards.

After getting dressed, you head to the communal lounge where you finish your session by blow-drying your hair and applying your skincare routine with some K-beauty skincare, courtesy of the spa.

Damda Spa is at 70 Yanghwa-ro, 4F, 7-gil Mapo-gu, Seoul, Tel: +82 10-3907-9755.

2. Ear Seeding

Chances are, you’ve come across a unique treatment on your FYP while doom scrolling: Ear seeding.

Usually done as part of a beauty treatment (we even found a Pilates studio that offers it, courtesy of By Ava’s Ava Lee), many K-beauty content creators have shared that ear seeding not only helps with stress relief but also gives them a more radiant complexion and snatched jawline.

What it is: Rooted in Traditional Chinese Medicine, ear seeding is a needle-less form of auriculotherapy or ear acupressure, and it’s said to provide general wellness benefits, such as stress relief, reduce insomnia, improve blood circulation and boost lymphatic drainage. These ear seeds are often placed and worn at specific acupressure points on the ear such as the upper portion of the ear, within the triangular fossa, to reduce stress, or along (or behind) the earlobe to aid with headaches and migraines.

Try it at: Joa Pilates

What to expect: Usually an add on to a facial or even head spa treatment, it’s a quick session that involves the therapist examining your ears and mapping out specific acupuncture points, which are tailored to your needs, to place the ear seeds.

After giving the ear a light cleanse, the ear seeds are placed onto the specific points using adhesive tape and the areas are given a light massage in small, circular movements to stimulate the acupressure points.

And while the treatment is generally comfortable, you may experience a tender or warm sensation.

You’ll also be instructed to continue massaging these points for two to three times a day to boost its effects.

These ear seeds aren’t meant to be worn forever, usually lasting up to a week.

Joa Pilates is at 25 Dosan-daero, 4F, 15-gil Gangnam District, Seoul, Tel: +82 2-544-5416

3. Small Face Facials

It’s a well-known fact that Koreans are obsessed with a small face. And while Singapore does offer this treatment at places like Yakson, why not go right to the source to try it out for yourself?

What it is: A non-surgical option to achieving a slimmer face and sharper jawline, it incorporates specialised sculpting massage techniques, known as golki therapy, that’s designed to target facial tension and reduce the width between the cheekbones and jawline.

Try it at: Cclime Clinic

What to expect: Here, therapists use Cclime’s signature facial device to work on your facial structure to help lift and tone the facial contours, and restore facial symmetry.

The device, paired with firm, deep tissue massage strokes, is able to reach even the delicate areas that manual massaging with your hands cannot reach, delivering effective results with ease.

And while the massaging can feel intense at times, you’ll leave with a naturally sculpted face, instantly reduced puffiness and defined jawline.

Cclime offers a range of small face treatments, from options that focus just on the core facial structure to one that even works on re-aligning and activating of the muscle tone and fascia of the decolletage, arms and scalp for a more holistic experience.

Beyond the face, Cclime also offers golki therapy to address body concerns to help you achieve a slim and toned silhouette.

Cclime Clinic is at 24 Seolleung-ro 115-gil, 3F, Gangnam District, Seoul, Tel: +82 10-8471-4868.

4. Hanyak Scalp Treatment

Ask any K-beauty enthusiast and they’ll be aware of the pampering 10-15 step head spa treatments. In fact, it’s something many tourists sign up for when they visit Seoul. But what if you want something more?

With Korea’s obsession with scalp health and scalp care, consider turning to Traditional Korean Medicine treatments to achieve a healthy scalp and lustrous locks instead.

What it is: A holistic scalp treatment that combines the principles of Korean traditional medicine together with modern technology to address your scalp and hair concerns.

Unlike the regular head spas offered in salons, this is more than just a regular spa session. It often uses medical grade formulations to address your scalp and hair concerns, such as hair loss, inflammation and excess sebum production. This includes using herbs and flower extracts like ginseng, mugwort, licorice root and camellia flower.

In addition, the entire process is prescribed by medical staff and done by highly skilled therapists.

Try it at: Lee Moon Won Clinic

What to expect: Every session begins with a scalp scan and consultation that allows both you and the therapist to better understand the state of your scalp and hair. Once the diagnosis is done, you’ll be shown to a private room where the process begins.

And of course, you’ll be pampered with lots of massages, from the scalp to the head and even neck and shoulders, for a complete relaxation so you’ll leave feeling refreshed, rebalanced and restored.

You won’t need to worry about messy bedhead either, as the treatments include a hair wash and styling post-treatment too.

Lee Moon Won Clinic is at 33 Seolleung-ro 132-gil, Gangnam District, Seoul, Tel: +82 10-3377-0689

5. Personalised Facials And Body Treatments

Not everyone is ready for an in-clinic aesthetic treatment. But when you’re in the land of K-beauty, there’s no better place than to try out a pampering spa treatment, or two.

What it is: No pain. No downtime. Only pure bliss. From facials that focus on lifting the face and brightening the complexion to massages and body treatments that firm and shape, these treatments are often personalised to your unique concerns, and marries the benefits of traditional Korean beauty and wellness know-how with modern technologies.

Try it at: OD Graphy Spa by Skin Angella

What to expect: This spa focuses on helping the body relax, because the team believes that only when your senses are truly relaxed, then the healing can begin, inside and out.

The treatments here use made-in-Korea products by OD Graphy, a brand created in Seoul that focuses on beauty and wellness.

The spa’s Signature Program is 90 minutes of bliss. It combines deep tissue massage using carefully created manual techniques paired with OD Graphy guasha tools and EMS face care to lift and plump the skin, leaving you feeling utterly relaxed and refreshed.

And for that K-beauty glass skin glow you’ve always desired? Try the Glow Reborn Program, which not only softens the signs of ageing and dullness, but also brightens and delivers a glow that will turn heads.

For a holistic experience, opt to have your treatment done in the spa’s new Wave Room. In addition to the therapist’s skilled hands, your visual senses will also be treated to a brilliant light show with a myriad of colours dancing on the walls of the room that soothes the mind and body—think of it as your very own private Northern Lights show.

Skin Angella is at 13 Dosan-daero 90-gil, Gangnam District, Seoul, Tel: +82 10-7353-0588.