Korean bathhouse in US told to open women’s nude area to trans guests

King Spa in Palisades Park, New Jersey, revised its policies after a transgender woman sued over being denied access to the women’s facilities. Captured from Google Maps / Alexandra Goebert's LinkedIn

SEATTLE — A major Korean bathhouse chain in the U.S. must now allow transgender women into its female nude section, regardless of surgery status, under a legal settlement with a customer who said staff interrogated her about her body.

According to court documents cited by the New York Post, the dispute began when Alexandra Goebert, a transgender woman, tried to enter a women-only nude area at King Spa & Sauna in New Jersey but was stopped by staff who questioned her about her body. Although her ID listed her as female, workers asked whether she had undergone gender-affirming surgery and told her she could only enter if she wore “uniform shorts.”

Goebert refused, saying no other customer was required to cover up, and later filed a discrimination complaint after she was denied access and offered a refund.

The settlement requires the spa to revise its long-standing gender-segregated policy. Under the revised rules, customers may use the facilities that match their gender identity, regardless of anatomy or surgical history. Guests are also advised they may encounter others whose physical appearance does not align with traditional expectations of gender.

But the change has prompted anxiety online as some users said they worry about safety and privacy in an environment built around full nudity.

One user wrote on MissyUSA, a popular online community among Korean Americans, “Just imagining it is terrifying. If I go early in the morning when it’s usually empty and end up alone with someone, I can’t even imagine how scary that would feel. I don’t think I can go to this sauna anymore.” Another said, “Now I’m scared to take my kids to the bathhouse because what if people with male genitalia come into the women’s area? I really don’t know what to do.”

Others chimed in on Reddit and Instagram. “Proudly pro-trans and human rights, but I don’t know about this one,” wrote one user on a Reddit thread about the spa with close to 1,000 comments. Another user agreed, writing, “I’m all for supporting a person’s right to choose to identify however they want, but potentially traumatizing people, or at the very least, infringing on someone else’s right to quietly enjoy a spa without being made to feel uncomfortable just so you can have your way and prove a point is ridiculous and completely selfish.”

Many worried about the possibility of the business shutting down. “I hope this doesn’t put King Spa out of business, but I could see them losing a lot of their Korean customer base if the policy isn’t handled carefully,” one person wrote.

Korean-style bathhouses, known for communal baths, steam rooms and gender-separated nude areas, have grown popular across the U.S. but often maintain customs rooted in strict binary norms. The case highlights how businesses offering nude facilities are increasingly required to base access on gender identity rather than anatomy.

The dispute follows a similar decision earlier this year involving another Korean spa in Washington state, where a federal appeals court ruled that excluding transgender women who have not undergone surgery amounts to discrimination. Together, the cases reflect a broader legal shift as courts address access to gender-segregated spaces in settings where nudity is central.