(Hi — we’re back from Jeju Island, Korea’s Hawaii. More on that later. It’s seven AM on our last day and we have packing to do… but there’s just enough time for this.)
Korea has innovative bathroom technology (that’s one way to put it).
For example, if you are bothered by a soap dispenser that’s always empty, you can try the soap-ball-on-a-stick, and know exactly how much soap is left. When you are ready to wash your hands, you just rub the soap ball, and your hands are soapy.
But the soap ball was nothing compared to what awaited us when we first peeked in a bathroom stall. Do you like to sit down when you do your thing? Okay, I guess, but consider a different option: it’s the hole-in-the-floor toilet, which struck me as so odd that I eventually made it a point to take the camera into a stall with me. Not every toilet in Korea is a “squat” toilet like this, but there are a few everywhere — we found them in Japan, too.
But, like the traditional soup in the header, I never tried it. I just beelined to the next stall to find a “western” or “modern” toilet. Steph and I have heard these peculiar loos described as both “old-fashioned style” and “Japanese” toilets, so I wonder if they are an artifact of the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945). I don’t know.
(Okay, time to pack and make movies… only ten hours left in Korea!)
If you're headed to Korea, take a look.
I’ve heard about the hole in the floor toilets as being in China. Didn’t know they were in Korea and Japan too. Guess they’d have a population with really strong thighs.
Outstanding point!
– Steve
Is this for women and men, or just in the men’s room?
This type is for women as well! In some places this was it….four in a row, in other places their would be one like this and one ‘modern’. I ended up waiting a couple times in our travels/tours/eating out with the hope a modern bathroom was close by. One time, I let the person in line behind me go when this type of stall came up so I could get the modern stall.
-Steph