Korea Gets a Theme Park Dedicated to Toilets and the Crap that Goes in Them

Outside Seoul, the city of Suwon recently opened a public park and museum dedicated to toilets. Makes sense, as the city has been a toilet pioneer in South Korea. As YouTube user KRTVtv pointed out, Korea's public toilets were "ramshackle and disgusting" before the 1980s.

In Korea, it's being called the "world's first toilet theme park". On display there are Roman style loos, European bedpans, and ancient Korean flush toilets as well as fun facts about poop.

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Then the former mayor of Suwon, Sim Jae-Duck, led a crusade to clean up the country's (and the world's) commodes. The mayor was apparently born in the toilet of his mother's parent's house (not a joke), created the world's only toilet-shaped house, and founded World Toilet Association. No wonder he was known as Mr. Toilet. Take that Thomas Crapper!

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As peculiar as Mr. Toilet's crusade seems, proper plumbing and clean toilets are extremely important for good health and cleanliness.

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To mark the birth of the World Toilet Association, Mr. Toilet had his home of thirty years destroyed. In its place, he had architect Go Gi-wong build a house that was shaped like a john. The house was completed in 2007, and was donated to the city in 2009 after Mr. Toilet's passing.

Check out KRTVtv's tour of the Toilet House. More photos in the link below.

解憂斎/Mr.Toilet House(水原) [Seoul Navi]
世界初、トイレのテーマパーク=歴史など紹介-韓国・水原 [Jiji]


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