{"id":405107,"date":"2026-07-20T10:17:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T10:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/405107\/"},"modified":"2026-07-20T10:17:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T10:17:11","slug":"the-best-new-korean-spa-near-l-a-has-free-parking-and-zero-crowds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/405107\/","title":{"rendered":"The best new Korean spa near L.A. has free parking and zero crowds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When the world becomes too much for me \u2014 right now that\u2019s a dangerous heat wave<\/a> and an even more heated news cycle<\/a> (not to mention a family member in the hospital) \u2014 I do what I always do: soak. Yes, in hot water, despite the weather.<\/p>\n

Typically I do that at Wi Spa<\/a>. But the popular Korean spa, with its beloved \u201cBuff\u201d body scrubs and warm clay sauna, has become \u2026 well, crowded. Last time I was there, the coed area (the \u201cjimjilbang\u201d) was so packed, visitors lounged shoulder-to-shoulder on their floor mats, punctuated by the occasional snorer or screeching child.<\/p>\n

So I was especially excited to learn about Spa Hyu<\/a>, a modern Korean spa in City of Industry. Sure, it was a bit farther from my home in Silver Lake than Koreatown (though only about 35 minutes from downtown L.A.). But it was worth it.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

One of the saunas in Spa Hyu\u2019s coed area in the Main Hall.<\/p>\n

(Ariana Drehsler \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

Like most Korean spas, Spa Hyu offers hot and cold pools for bathing in the buff, with separate men\u2019s and women\u2019s soaking areas. And it has a spacious coed floor \u2014 called the \u201cMain Hall\u201d \u2014 with a full-service restaurant and the spectrum of saunas, including a Himalayan salt room, yellow clay room and cold room. But because it\u2019s relatively new \u2014 Spa Hyu opened fully to the public in April 2024 \u2014 it\u2019s especially clean and bright, with state-of-the-art amenities. It\u2019s generally not very crowded and doesn\u2019t allow children under age 12, so it\u2019s unusually quiet and calm, given the scope of the place.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to provide a place for adults to relax and reset and get ready for the next day or week,\u201d co-owner Christie Kim says. \u201cI have three children of my own \u2014 I know how hectic our lives can be \u2014 so it was [about] creating a space that\u2019s safe and clean, where people can relax and enjoy nude bathing and eat Korean food. It\u2019s a wholesome thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a forest. Sort of.<\/p>\n

Spa Hyu looks like a cross between a bathhouse and a tropical forest \u2014 as designed by Willy Wonka<\/a>. There\u2019s a massive plant wall flanking one side of the Main Hall, with about 1,200 pots of living greens. An arborist tends to it every two weeks and the spa replaces 300 to 400 pots every three months. Nearby, enormous, rustic logs (for sitting?) adorn the airy lounge, which also has plush leather lounge chairs and roomy wicker love seats for two. A canopy of candy-colored paper lanterns and twinkling lights hangs over a long dining table opposite the restaurant. The spa doesn\u2019t offer foot massages, but there\u2019s a 30-foot-long \u201cjade stone walk,\u201d with half-dome pebbles imported from Korea, on it. Stroll down, barefoot, and it\u2019s a free shiatsu foot massage.<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

A colorful dining table outside Spa Hyu\u2019s restaurant. <\/p>\n

(Ariana Drehsler \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

Even the technology feels in-service to the nature theme. Unlike some Korean spas<\/a>, which feature seemingly omnipresent TV screens playing Korean dramas or game shows, Spa Hyu has just three small TVs. And two of them play silent, meditative nature imagery of birds, mountains, seascapes and trees.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A visitor relaxes by the plant wall, which has about 1,200 pots of living greens. <\/p>\n

(Ariana Drehsler \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have to go to Mt. Whitney or Baldy to enjoy the mountain vibe. Come here and feel like you\u2019re in nature and relax,\u201d Kim says, adding that the spa installed five commercial-sized air filtration systems in the Main Hall \u201cfor everyone to breathe better, cleaner.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kim created Spa Hyu with her sister, Eugene Kim. They grew up just north of Seoul,, before the family moved to L.A. in the \u201880s when Christie was 14 and Eugene 20. They later gave up their careers \u2014 Christie\u2019s in law and real estate, and Eugene\u2019s in art \u2014 to open Spa Hyu after buying and extensively remodeling the longtime local establishment, Diamond Family Spa. The roughly $2-million redo included new floors, walls, soaking pools and all amenities. \u201cThe only existing thing is the lockers,\u201d Kim says, \u201cand they\u2019ve been modernized.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the center of the Kim sisters\u2019 career pivots was a love of hospitality and Korean culture.<\/p>\n

\"Spa <\/p>\n

Spa Hyu imports its luxury skincare products, which are vegan-certified, from Korea. <\/p>\n

(Ariana Drehsler \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

\u201cI just love spas,\u201d Kim says. \u201cGrowing up, our whole family would go together on Sunday mornings and scrub each other\u2019s backs. My son \u2014 who\u2019s half Chinese, half Korean \u2014 still goes with his dad and they do that. We wanted to share this great Korean culture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eugene Kim designed the interior of the spa, importing nearly all the materials and most of the furniture from Korea. The body scrub areas and dry saunas feature Japanese Hinoki wood also imported from Korea. It has a distinctive woodsy scent. The \u201ccharcoal forest room\u201d includes hanging bags of dried mugwort from Korea that smell similar to rosemary. The \u201cHimalayan salt room\u201d boasts giant salt rocks from Korea on the walls and ceiling. The \u201cyellow clay room\u201d features clay from Korea on the walls and floor. Guests lie on linen sheets, washed daily, on the floor for cleanliness.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Korea, back in the day, they used yellow clay to build homes for better air circulation,\u201d Kim says. \u201cYou sweat better in yellow clay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Guests <\/p>\n

Guests relax in the the \u201cyellow clay room.\u201d <\/p>\n

(Ariana Drehsler \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

One area of pride is the restaurant, Kim says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe use top quality ingredients. No discounts or subgrade meats. Fresh veggies. All the side dishes are prepared by our staff,\u201d she says. \u201cWe love the fact that we\u2019re treating our guests as if they\u2019re in our home, that they\u2019re well fed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Spa <\/p>\n

Spa Hyu\u2019s snack bar outside the restaurant. <\/p>\n

(Ariana Drehsler \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n

The cost of entry at Spa Hyu and Wi Spa (both $40) is comparable, and that includes use of the communal bathing areas and spa amenities. But I did miss the fact that Wi Spa is open 24\/7 (not that I ever went at 3 a.m., but just knowing I could!) as well as their massage chairs and the cashless wristbands it gives visitors to swipe at the restaurant \u2014 I had to run back to my locker, at lunch, to get my credit card at Spa Hyu. <\/p>\n

But the spacious lot parking at Spa Hyu is \u2026 free. That, more than almost anything, brings on a sense of calm.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When the world becomes too much for me \u2014 right now that\u2019s a dangerous heat wave and an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":405108,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[3409,86011,5788,162466,162463,1073,25794,74740,48,52,51,47,50,49,162467,162464,155056,162461,1290,162465,162462],"class_list":["post-405107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-child","tag-christie","tag-downtown-l-a","tag-floor-mat","tag-full-service-restaurant","tag-home","tag-kim","tag-korea","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-main-hall","tag-popular-korean-spa","tag-sauna","tag-spa-hyu","tag-wall","tag-wi-spa","tag-yellow-clay-room"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=405107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/405107\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/405108"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=405107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=405107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=405107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}