The House With A POT-ential

Take a peek at Suwon's biggest toilet.

 

Comfort rooms as they are called, toilets live to their name, no explanation needed as we all agree. But as comfortable as they may be no one could imagine living in a toilet all his life. Strangely, one Korean man did and even thought of putting up a huge toilet building. If you are curious read on as I introduced South Korea's famous "Mr. Toilet".

Located in the city of Suwon, which is about 25 miles south of Seoul, is the well-known ‘Toilet House’. The place is named such but it is not a house rather a museum designed to look like a toilet, an ingenious idea of Suwon's one-time Mayor and founder of the World Toilet Association, Mr. Sim Jae-Duck.

 

 

Born in an outhouse in his grandmother's residence, Mr. Sim had a fascination for potties and hygiene. No, this isn't some kind of accidental birth as his mother purposely stepped in the bathroom just as he was about to pop out, with the belief that children born in a bathroom will live a longer life. Later in his life, he spearheaded the promotion of beautifying South Korean public toilet culture and later got the title, "Mr. Toilet".

Fired with this passion, he had his house for 30 years demolished and redesigned to look like a toilet seat. He later named it "haewoojae" (해우재), which literally translates to " a house to relieve one's anxiety". Now the place is known internationally as 'Haewoojae' Museum or Korea's Toilet House.

To honor Mr. Sim's passing in 2009, the house was donated to Suwon City, where it was further remodeled and turned into a Cultural Exhibit, all in his accordance.

The museum at present showcases the history of Korean latrines and has become a known place for educational tours. Apart from the different kinds of toilets used in different periods in Korea, other notable features in the museum are the toilet bowl-shaped flowerpots, oversized squatty potty, a poop library where you can find books related to poop, and its highlight, the giant golden pile of poop.

 

 

More of something creatively unique rather than embarrassing, the citizens of Suwon take pride in its sculpture as it promotes hygiene and sanitation in the city. Mr. Sim’s legacy has given Suwon City great potential in the field of environmental sanitation and tourism promotion. 


Weng

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