Sasasa, a sauna lifestyle brand backed by the Busan Creative Economy Innovation Center, has demonstrated the potential of new cultural content through a large-scale campaign in collaboration with global information and communications technology (ICT) and wellness companies.
The Busan Creative Economy Innovation Center said Wednesday that Sasasa recently completed its "Sauna Day" campaign, which brought together global IT firms and wellness brands. The campaign was designed to reinterpret Korea's unique sauna culture in a modern context and expand it into global lifestyle content, amid growing interest in balancing productivity and rest as artificial intelligence (AI) spreads.
The most notable program was "Eurekathon Seoul," a collaboration between AI code editor Cursor and Team Human. Held at Gangbyeon Spaland in Seoul, the hackathon drew about 70 developers and planners who wore jjimjilbok (traditional Korean spa uniforms) while using AI technology to build working services in a single day. Observers said the event showed that "relaxation-style development" — coding outside the conventional work environment — can unlock creativity.
About 500 people participated in the "Sauna Run," organized with the 1000cal club, an online community of roughly 20,000 members. Participants completed running and calorie-burning missions, then recovered through sauna sessions and ice plunges, experiencing a new wellness routine that combines exercise and recovery.
Other distinctive programs included a "Sauna Rave" that paired a sauna bus with DJ performances, drawing strong participation from younger demographics.
Sasasa is developing a next-generation sauna solution targeting the rapidly growing wellness market. The solution combines Internet of Things (IoT)-based operational automation technology with an AI protocol linked to wearable biometric data. The core strategy is to transform aging bathhouse operations into data-driven management models that cut costs and boost revisit rates through personalized customer experiences. Sasasa received investment support from the Busan Creative Economy Innovation Center in December last year.
Through this campaign, Sasasa has strengthened its position as a "sauna lifestyle brand" beyond a simple community. "Global interest in Korea's unique cultural asset of Korean saunas is growing," the company said. "We will expand it into a global wellness trend by combining it with various industries including IT, fashion, and food and beverage."