I've been to Korea around 10 times- every time I'm there, I make sure to get at least one massage, facial, and hair cut/ perm. (Korea is famous for its beauty standards!) One of the places I've tried- several times- is Juno Hair. Here's my Juno Hair Seoul Review to help you find the best hair salon in Seoul for you!
On each of my (approx) 10 trips to Korea, I make sure to get a massage, facial, and hair cut/ perm. (Click through for reviews of all the places I've tried.)
Juno is a HUGE hair salon chain in Korea with 157 outlets, everywhere from Busan to Myeongdong and Gangnam, so obviously I've cut my hair there, more than once! (There are so many outlets, Myeongdong itself has more than one Juno salon (see below.) They even have international outlets now.)
- Juno Hair Myeongdong 2 (18 Myeongdong 8na-gil, Jung District, Seoul, South Korea)
- Myeongdong Hair salon JUNOHAIR Seoul MyeongdongStreet Branch (South Korea, Seoul, Jung District, Myeongdong 10-gil, 41 챔피언빌딩 7층)
Note: there is more than 1 Juno salon in MyeongDong so, if visiting a specific one, copy the address exactly into Kakao Maps/ Naver Maps (and don't just put "Juno".)
Would I recommend Juno Hair salon to people visiting Seoul?
The short story is not particularly (unless they're super strapped for time)- scroll down for more details! (However, getting a beauty treatment is definitely a must-do in Korea, and spending time in an air-conditioned hair salon is a great way to beat the heat in Seoul in July! I just recommend visiting a better place!)
The Salon
On our last trip, my 2 Aunts, my Mom, and I (so 4 of us) went to Juno in Myeongdong.
This review is for the Myeongdong 2 branch only. The visit didn't start well, as our taxi driver told us this branch wasn't a good one! But we'd already booked so...
The entrance to the salon is nondescript- it's located on the 3F inside a non-modern looking building.
There is a (small) lift that brings you up to the salon from the ground floor. I was traveling with my Aunt who has mobility issues so I called to check (and that's why we chose this specific branch.)
Once you get to the 3F, the lift opens directly into the salon. The salon is nicely renovated, with modern wooden interiors, so it feels very comfortable to hang out in. (Very different from the ground floor entrance.)
When you enter, there are some booth seats (behind the table and chairs we see above) and that's where you sit to wait till your stylist is ready for you. (We were not offered coffee or tea whilst we waited.)
After that, you're moved from the waiting area (grey benches/ round wooden tables in the background) to the long table in the foreground, in the photo above.
You sit there to wait for your stylist to come fetch you. We were a party of 4 and only 1 of us was offered a cup of coffee/ tea. (We were seated separately, so it wasn't apparent that 1 person had been offered and the rest not, till we compared notes at the end of the day.)
Once your stylist picks you up, she brings you up to the 2nd floor of the salon.
I was surprised to see the stairs as I had called to ask beforehand and was not informed about the staircase. (There could be a lift that brings you up to the 2nd floor, but we weren't able to communicate well enough with the stylists to find out. Luckily, my Aunt managed to hobble up.)
Next to the wooden staircase and besides the cafe is the hair cutting/ perming area. It's nice and spacious, as you can see.
The toilet in the salon is nice and large, so it's easy for people with mobility issues to manoeuvre around.
The toilet was pretty clean and modern.
The Cut
For the 4 of us, we had 2 male and 2 female stylists. (My Mom and I had female stylists and the 2 Aunts had Male ones.)
My stylist asked what I wanted to do with my hair and I asked for her recommendation. When I've done so in hair salons in Seoul in the past, the stylist has always created something that complements my face.
Unfortunately, this time, the stylist didn't even ask me to remove my mask, and chose a style. I was a bit dubious since the best hair cuts need to work with one's face shape, but chose to trust in her expertise.
The perm she recommended was something I'd seen in the Korean dramas showing at that time- so very trendy. I think it was quite a generic style- so it didn't not suit me, but didn't make me look better either.
I would say the stylist's skills were technically competent but the result did not really suit me.
Unfortunately, the perm only lasted 1-2 days despite me NOT WETTING my hair. I left a comment on Google reviews and the director immediately offered to address the issue.
Tip: I would say if you cut your hair at Juno Myeongdong 2, do so at the beginning of your trip, so they have time to "repair" your hair.
In comparison, the cut I got in 2016 at the other Juno branch was SO much better (even though I wasn't really looking to cut my hair short then)- in that it was tailored to my face and the texture of my hair- and SO MUCH cheaper! ($25 vs $500.)
Service
I wasn't really impressed with the service.
It was lackluster at the start- only 1 of us offered a drink throughout the entire treatment, which is quite unheard of for a hair salon, in my opinion. (In case you're wondering, only 1 person was given samples at the end of the treatment too.)
The only time the service got really good was at the end when we were paying- we each ended up spending about $500 on the cut/perm/ treatment alone AND we all bought the shampoo/ conditioner/ hair oil they recommended, so the salon made a few thousand (USD) from us. (Then all the therapists started non-stop bowing and being friendlier.) The products they recommended were made in Japan, not cheap, and I didn't find them particularly good for my hair either.
Seniors' Hair
My Mom was given a VERY curly perm. She ended up looking like the women from the countryside that you see in Korean dramas. Not saying there's anything wrong with how they look, but.... I don't think anyone expects to look like that after a hairdo in Seoul.
It was certainly different from her usual style, but is straddling the line between country peasant and stylish. (You know one of those difficult to pull off looks?) It was somewhat cute when she emerged from the salon but once she had to style it herself, it was FULL ON AJUMMA. I do think a good salon should take into account the hair-styling abilities of the client before doing such difficult style!
As for my 2 Aunts, one looked almost the same as before the cut. However, the 2ns one had a good experience: she's balding at the top of the head, and the new hairstyle did hide the fact (a bit.)
English Ability
The Juno salon had a fair mix of locals and tourists. (The guy sitting next to me, for example, was a tourist.)
For the number of tourists the salon gets, I would say the English ability of the stylists isn't very high (though higher than at some of the other salons I've visited.) You'll need to do some miming and use the Papago app to converse with the therapist.
Price
I found the price to be too high. It was by far the most I'd spent on hair in South Korea, and comparable to/ more than what I would spend in Singapore actually.
Mine cost $500 for a haircut and perm (no treatment.) My Mom and Aunts each had a perm and treatment, which also cost around the same amount.
We were also recommended products which came up to a few hundred for shampoo and hair oil...
Would I return to Juno Hair Salon?
The best hair cut both I and my Mother have had in Seoul was actually at a salon in the University area (E-dae, but the area didn't fare that well post Covid), so next time I think I'll try Olrang in Hongdae instead!
Any questions about getting your hair cut at Juno Hair Salon Seoul? Let me know in the comments!
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