A Night at `Toilet House?

This is “Haewoojae,” the first and largest toilet-shaped house in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, which will open to the public on Nov. 11. The toilet-shaped house is a twostory, 418.72 square-meter construction which is made of steel and concrete. / Courtesy of the World Toilet Association (WTA)

By Chung Ah-young
Staff Reporter

How would you like to spend $50,000 to stay one night at a house that resembles, of all things, a toilet?

The world's only toilet house, called ``Haewoojae,'' will be unveiled in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province Nov. 11. ``Haewoojae'' means ``a place where one can solve one's worries,'' a euphemistic expression describing a toilet.

Sim Jae-duck, owner of the house, is giving Koreans and others an opportunity to be the first to stay there.

A stay in the toilet house will cost $50,000 for one night. The proceeds will be entrusted to the Korea Toilet Association and later used to help provide developing counties with toilet facilities.

Built in the shape of a toilet, ``Haewoojae'' is a two-story, 418.72 square-meter construction which is made of steel and concrete. Construction on the house began last May.

Among its many amenities, the house features four deluxe toilets, and even a cozy stream and small garden in the front of the house. The natural and pleasant atmosphere adds to the unique and pleasant aesthetics of Haewoojae.

Sim, chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Inaugural General Assembly of the World Toilet Association (WTA), decided to build the toilet house to commemorate the WTA's upcoming General Assembly in Seoul on Nov. 21-25.

The assembly will establish an association to help enhance the quality of life of individuals around the world who suffer from infectious diseases and other difficulties due to lack of toilet facilities.

Sim said that the construction of the toilet house is part of his primary efforts to foster an open dialogue about toilets and eradicate taboos and misconceptions surrounding the subject.

``The toilet should be considered a sanctuary that, among other things, protects people's health,'' said Sim. He feels strongly about the shared objectives between his own association and the United Nations' 2008 International Year of Sanitation.

"About 2.6 billion people live without toilets. Providing proper toilet facilities is an urgent agenda for the international community. I urge people to show an interest in alleviating the suffering of those inflicted by infectious diseases and water shortages due to inadequate toilet facilities,'' said Sim.

Haewoojae will be registered in the Guinness Book of Records for being the ``first and largest toilet shaped building in Korea,'' another symbol which marks Korea's advanced toilet culture.

The WTA traces its origins to the domestic campaign launched by the Korea Toilet Association for better sanitation in the early 1990s such as the Citizen's Coalition for restroom culture in Korea.

For the movement toward better restroom culture, the organization has strived to make the bathroom a cultural asset of the country as all countries have different cultures related to toilet construction and use.

chungay@koreatimes.co.kr

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