Bathhouse in Korea accused of gender discrimination for charging women towel fees
A customer talks with a staff member at the entrance of a bathhouse in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul, in April 2023. This photo is not directly related to the article. Korea Times photo by Kim Jae-hyun
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea has ruled that a bathhouse in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, engaged in gender discrimination by charging female customers for towel rentals while providing them free of charge to male customers.
According to the commission on Tuesday, the bathhouse charged both men and women the same entrance fee of 9,000 won ($6.60). However, while men received two towels for free, women were required to pay 1,000 won for two towels. A female customer filed a complaint, arguing that the additional charge for women without reasonable justification constituted gender discrimination.
The bathhouse defended its practice by claiming that “towel recovery rates are significantly lower in the women’s bath area,” which led to higher replacement costs and the introduction of a 500 won fee per towel. It added that at least six other saunas in Gumi also charge women separately for towels. The bathhouse further said that it had updated its price list to reflect this practice, following recommendations from city officials.
The municipality, during the investigation, responded that it had “no authority to impose penalties,” explaining that the Public Sanitation Management Act does not regulate towel pricing policies.
However, the human rights commission rejected the bathhouse’s explanation, emphasizing that applying additional charges to all women without statistical evidence constitutes a generalization based on gender stereotypes.
“Loss or contamination of towels results from individual behavior, not gender. Imposing a uniform fee on all female customers without empirical data is discriminatory,” the commission said.
The commission also pointed out that 25 out of 36 bathhouses in Gumi provide free towels to both men and women. It urged the municipality to strengthen oversight. “The state has a duty to prevent and rectify discrimination in the private sector. Local governments should not dismiss gender-based inequalities simply because there is no explicit legal provision," the commission said.
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.