Korean cafe’s $1.35 'toilet without ordering' menu sparks online debate

An Instagram post shows a cafe kiosk listing “restroom use without order (one person, one time)” for 2,000 won ($1.35). Captured from social media

A social media post showing a cafe charging 2,000 won ($1.35) for restroom use without a purchase has sparked heated debate online in South Korea.

The image featured a screenshot of a self-order kiosk displaying a menu item reading “restroom use without ordering,” priced at 2,000 won per person, per visit.

The post also drew mixed reactions in an online community for small-business owners.

One user said the fee was understandable, writing that many people come in just to use the restroom without buying anything and sometimes leave it in a filthy condition. From a cafe owner’s perspective, the commenter said, such behavior can seem brazenly inconsiderate.

Others were less sympathetic. Another commenter called the fee excessive and said it came off as “cold-hearted.”

One cafe owner also shared the challenges of managing restrooms at a business located in an area popular with tourists.

“It is a big burden because people often throw away regular trash or even leave full garbage bags in the restroom,” the owner wrote.

The owner said a password system was added to the restroom door just two months after the cafe opened, and that paying customers are now given the code at the bottom of their receipt.

But even that, the owner added, has not fully solved the problem.

“In one case, a tour guide bought a single drink and then shared the restroom password with a large group, allowing hundreds of people to use the facility,” the owner wrote. “It is not easy to manage the store in an area with so many tourists.”

A notice reading “not a public restroom” and “use only after purchase” is posted at a cafe in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province. Captured from social media

The flare-up is only the latest in a string of disputes in Korea over cafe bathroom access.

In December, an online post described a clash at a large franchise cafe in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, after a customer allegedly used the restroom during a family outing and was then confronted by the owner while trying to leave.

The poster claimed the owner blocked the exit and said non-customers were not allowed to use the bathroom and would have to order food or drinks before leaving.

According to the account, the family offered to buy a children’s Pororo drink for the child waiting outside, but the owner allegedly insisted they had to order coffee instead.

The argument escalated, and while the owner reportedly called police on obstruction of business allegations, the poster said officers who arrived determined no such charge applied.

Photos of signs at the cafe — including notices reading “not a public restroom” and “bathroom fee: 5,000 won” — also spread online, fueling another round of debate.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.