Dongnae has a walled-town history, covered in our Dongnae Walled Town guide, and it is also one of Busan’s old hot spring districts. This guide covers one easy day in the Oncheonjang area: a large bathhouse, an open-air foot bath, a wood-fired pizza lunch and a plan that links them. We list opening hours, fees and closing days where our sources give them, and we say what we could not confirm.
The original source checks were made on 2 October 2026. The operator rules below were checked on 17 October 2026; unchanged details retain their original source date.
Our Family Visit: A Rainy Day at Heosimcheong
We went to Heosimcheong on a rainy day with our children, aged 5 and 3. The children enjoyed playing in the small pool area, and our notes mention a tube area too. They treated it as a playful outing rather than an ordinary bathhouse visit.
If you are weighing this as a rainy-day plan with young children, two checks decide it. First, the play pool and tube area are what we remember from that visit, so ask Heosimcheong whether they are open before you promise them to the children. Second, read the child-entry rules in the section below: they decide which adult can take which child into each bath. Our notes recorded three hours of free parking with spa use, while Visit Busan lists four hours, so confirm the current allowance at the desk.
Family notes added 15 October 2026. The visit date was not recorded. The children were aged 5 and 3 at the time.
Where to Go: Heosimcheong (허심청)
The Korea Tourism Organization (KTO) says Heosimcheong opened in October 1991 as part of a downtown redevelopment project in Busan. It describes the bath area as 4,297.54 square meters, able to hold 3,000 people at once, and calls it the largest hot spring facility in the East. We attribute that claim to KTO and have not checked it ourselves. Visit Busan, the city’s official tourism site, uses the same phrase.
KTO says the main bathhouse has more than 40 kinds of baths, including a cave bath and an open-air bath, and runs seasonal baths made with natural or herbal ingredients. It also lists a sauna area and other facilities. Visit Busan says natural light comes through a glass ceiling and that Heosimcheong is on the 4th and 5th floors of its building.
Visit Busan says “more than 10 types of baths”, while KTO says more than 40. We could not reconcile the two counts.
An old story, and no health claims
Visit Busan tells a Silla-era story about an old woman who followed a limping crane to a spring. We pass it on as a legend. Both official sources also use health and healing language about hot spring water. We do not repeat those claims, because we cannot verify them. If you have a health condition, ask a doctor, not a travel guide.
The open-air foot bath (동래온천노천족욕탕)
KTO says the Dongnae Oncheon open-air foot bath is in the hot spring district, and that spring water pours from a dragon-head sculpture. Large bathhouses such as Heosimcheong, Nokcheontang (녹천탕) and Cheoniltang (천일탕) stand around it, and a monument called Onjeong Gaegeonbi (온정개건비) is next to it.
KTO lists the foot bath as open 10:00 to 17:00 and says to call for details. It is closed every Monday and Tuesday, on 1 January and on Seollal and Chuseok holidays. There is no parking. The listed phone number is 051-550-6602. We did not find a price, so we cannot say if it is free. From Heosimcheong, our straight-line estimate from the KTO coordinates is about 0.17 kilometers.
What to Eat: 303 Hwadeok (303화덕)
Near the baths, KTO’s restaurant data points to an Italian place: 303 Hwadeok Dongnae Oncheonjang (303화덕 동래온천장점). This is not a Korean dish, so think of it as a simple meal after the spa.
KTO says the shop makes Neapolitan-style pizza in an oak-wood oven, with Italian flour and dough that is aged at low temperature. It lists oven bread with oregano and garlic that can be refilled, half-and-half pizzas with a choice among three flavors, and pasta and risotto dishes. Menu items listed include Mozzarella Margherita (모짜렐라 마르게리따), Gorgonzola pizza (고르곤졸라 피자) and Diavola (디아블라). The first menu item is 303 Genovese (303제노베제); our sources do not say what is on it, so ask staff.
To order, say the menu name and then 주세요 (juseyo), which means “please give me”. For half-and-half, ask about 반반 (banban). If you have an allergy, ask staff about ingredients before you order.
The address is 37 Chabatgol-ro (차밭골로 37), Oncheon-dong, Dongnae-gu. KTO lists hours of 11:00 to 21:00, last order at 20:00, and no closing days. It says card payment is possible, reservations can be made through Naver, and parking is available. KTO adds that weekends may mean a wait. The phone number is 0507-1407-7044. We found no prices.
Another source conflict: a sign visible in the KTO listing photo shows a break time of 15:00 to 17:00, but KTO’s text lists none, and the photo date is unknown (another KTO photo shows a “GRAND OPEN” banner, so the photos may be old). We could not confirm, so call first if you plan to go in the afternoon. From Heosimcheong, the restaurant is about 0.65 kilometers by our straight-line estimate. We did not verify the walking time.
Entry Rules for Families and First-Time Visitors
Hotel Nongshim operator rules, checked 17 October 2026:
- The operator prohibits entry for visitors with tattoos. It does not state an exception for covering a tattoo.
- A child may accompany a guardian into the opposite-sex bath only when both conditions apply: the child is at most 48 months old and under 100 cm tall. Follow staff instructions.
- Children from 12 months to preschool age are listed at KRW 7,000. The jjimjil facility has a separate KRW 4,000 gown-rental charge.
- Collect a key at the fourth-floor desk, use the facilities, then pay at that desk on leaving. Bath-only use is limited to four hours; overtime is KRW 2,000 per hour. This is a bathing-time rule, not a parking allowance.
Plan Your Visit
This is our suggestion, not a sourced route. Distances are straight-line estimates from KTO coordinates, and we did not verify walking times.
- Take Busan Metro Line 1 to Oncheonjang Station (온천장역) and leave by Exit 1. Visit Busan says Heosimcheong is a 9-minute walk from this exit.
- Visit the foot bath first, before 17:00, and not on a Monday or Tuesday. It is about 0.17 kilometers from Heosimcheong. We did not find its distance from the station.
- Then soak at Heosimcheong. Its hot spring facility is listed as open 05:30 to 22:00, with the last entry at 21:30 according to KTO. The sauna area is listed as 06:30 to 21:00.
- Eat at 303 Hwadeok, with the last order at 20:00.
Fees, parking and access
Visit Busan lists Heosimcheong fees as 15,000 won on weekdays and 18,000 won on weekends for middle school students and older, and 11,000 won on weekdays and 12,000 won on weekends for elementary school students. Parking is in an underground garage and a parking tower, free for 4 hours. It lists a braille guide, ramp, accessible parking, an elevator and an accessible bathroom. The phone number is +82-51-550-2200.
An optional stream walk
KTO says Dongnae Oncheon-gil (동래온천길) is a 5.65 kilometer walking course that links the Oncheonjang area, Myeongnyun 1st Street and the Oncheoncheon Café Street. A stamp tour runs all year. KTO says the café street grew from small cafés that opened in a residential area around 2011, and now has about 150 shops. The photo above shows the stream path in cherry blossom and canola season, and KTO says spring is when it gets crowded.
Visit Busan says to walk 12 minutes from Exit 1 of Allak Station (안락역) on the Donghae Line, or to take bus 86, 210 or Dongnae-gu 2 to the Gangbyeon Tteuranchae Apartment stop and walk 5 minutes. The café street is about 3.7 kilometers from Heosimcheong by straight line. We could not confirm the best way to link the two by transit, so check a map app.
First-Timer Tips
These are our suggestions.
- Read the tattoo and child-entry restrictions above before travelling. Ask the operator separately about towels and English help; those details remain unconfirmed.
- Go to the foot bath first: it closes at 17:00 and is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
- Weekend prices at Heosimcheong are higher than weekday prices.
FAQ
How do I get to Heosimcheong? Take Line 1 to Oncheonjang Station, Exit 1, then walk about 9 minutes, according to Visit Busan.
How much does it cost? Visit Busan lists 15,000 won on weekdays and 18,000 won on weekends for middle school students and older.
Can I bring a car? Visit Busan says parking is free for 4 hours at Heosimcheong. The foot bath has no parking.
Is the foot bath free? We did not find a price.
Can I get English help? We did not find this in our sources.
What We Could Not Confirm
- Towel availability or rental charges, and English support at Heosimcheong.
- Whether the foot bath is free.
- Whether 303 Hwadeok closes in the afternoon (a sign in a KTO photo shows 15:00 to 17:00).
- Prices at 303 Hwadeok.
- Walking times and the last metro or bus.
- The number of baths: Visit Busan says more than 10, KTO says more than 40.
Related guides
- Dongnae Walled Town in Busan
- Busan Metro for Visitors
- Where to Leave Luggage in Busan
- Rainy-Day Ideas in Busan
We post short first-timer guides on Instagram too: @rolo.koreaguide.
Sources
Checked on 2 Oct 2026.
- Korea Tourism Organization, TourAPI (Korean service): Heosimcheong (content ID 127419), Dongnae Oncheon Open-Air Foot Bath (128706), 303 Hwadeok Dongnae Oncheonjang (2870800), Dongnae Oncheon-gil (2822334). Photographs from these listings (KOGL Type 3, except the stream path photo, KOGL Type 1), Type 3 photos used unaltered.
- Visit Busan (official Busan tourism site): Hurshimchung Spa, https://www.visitbusan.net/index.do?menuCd=DOM_000000302008001000&uc_seq=1754&lang_cd=en ; Healing through hot springs, https://www.visitbusan.net/index.do?menuCd=DOM_000000302008001000&uc_seq=474&lang_cd=en ; Oncheoncheon Café Street, https://visitbusan.net/index.do?lang_cd=en&menuCd=DOM_000000302003001000&uc_seq=388 . Read 2 Oct 2026.
- Distances: straight-line calculations from the KTO coordinates, not walking routes.
Practical update checked 17 October 2026: Hotel Nongshim: Heosimcheong entry restrictions, child rules and charges.
