Saturday, June 3, 2023
KoreaTravelPost - South Korea's Leading Travel Media Publication
  • Home
  • TRAVEL
    • Accomodation
    • Activities
    • Attractions
    • Day Tours
    • Food & Drink
    • K-Entertainment Tours
    • Korean Culture
    • Must Buy
    • Shopping Destinations
    • Transportation
    • Travel Essentials
    • Travel Tips
    • Travel News in Korea
  • Cities
    • Busan
    • Daegu
    • Daejeon
    • Gwangju
    • Incheon
    • Jeju
    • Seoul
    • Ulsan
  • Regions
    • Gangwon-do
    • Gyeonggi-do
    • North Gyeongsang (Gyeongsangbuk-do)
    • North Jeolla (Jeollabuk-do)
    • South Chungcheong (Chungcheongnam-do)
    • South Gyeongsang (Gyeongsangnam-do)
    • South Jeolla (Jeollanam-do)
No Result
View All Result
KoreaTravelPost - South Korea's Leading Travel Media Publication
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result

Understanding Korean Culture: Hygiene Culture in South Korea

KoreaTravelPost Editor by KoreaTravelPost Editor
06 August 2021
in Korean Culture

 45,232 total views,  48 views today

0 0
0
Home Korean Culture

A Korean bathroom can be a minefield for encountering culture shock in Korea. Here are a few things that might stump you when it comes to hygiene in South Korea!

Culture in Korea is dynamic, fun, and so different from what you are used to! But, all cultures are different, and if you are traveling to South Korea, there are some things that you need to understand before traveling. And the Korean bathroom is one of them!

Garbage Cans for Disposing Used Toilet Paper

Flushing of used toilet paper is not the norm! It can lead to a clogged toilet, especially in some older buildings. You will be able to see signs attached to the walls of the bathroom, asking you to throw the used toilet paper in the garbage can. These cans are placed on the side of the toilet, usually.

korean toilet

If you feel adventurous, you can always try to flush. You might get lucky, or you might be the jerk who clogged the toilet.

korean bathroom

Toilet Paper in Korea

Other than throwing used toilet paper in a garbage can instead of flushing; there are some more things that might surprise you. Some Korean bathrooms will have toilet paper outside the stalls. Some even have it outside the bathroom. And some just won’t have any! So, it might be a better idea that you carry toilet paper with you!

Squatters

The Korean toilet bowl is not exactly what you would expect. Instead of having a toilet seat, you’ll have to use a squatter toilet. It is essentially a porcelain hole in the floor. These are traditional Korean bathrooms that have been leftover from before the whole country underwent rapid modernization. You will find these mostly in less developed areas of Korea and older buildings across the country. Older buildings have the traditional Korean setup while the newer ones have been upgraded to Western-style toilet bowls.

Some of the squatter-style toilets don’t have a flushing device. They will have a bucket of water with a smaller bucket for scooping. Just scoop water into the toilet and let gravity do its work!

Super Advanced Ones

On the opposite end of the spectrum, you have super-high-end toilets. They are always something of a surprise. These Korean bathrooms will have special toilet seats that come with all the possible bells and whistles you could possibly think of or may not even imagine a toilet having some of these features!

The toilet seats are heated, have a bidet with adjustable spout, a dryer, and sometimes even with a little squirt of perfume! Some toilets might also have a small speaker that makes the sound of toilet flushing so that you can do your business without broadcasting to everyone. There are many different buttons on the control panel of the seat and don’t just go about randomly pressing them. You might press the emergency call button!

If you are worried about Korean bathrooms, there are basically two things to know. First is always carry toilet paper and secondly, hit the gym so that you can squat!

Public Bathrooms while Roaming in Streets of Korea

In Korea, it is difficult to find public bathrooms in the street. You can use the NAVER Map app to search for the nearest public bathroom. If that’s too far, you can run to the closest subway station as it always has a bathroom. Few subway stations may not allow you to use the bathroom without tapping your transportation card, so you need to take that into account.

Another option is to use a nearby café bathroom, which has better hygiene. If you feel uncomfortable just using the bathroom, you can always order a drink, right?

The third option is to use a Korean bathroom of public buildings like hospitals, banks, and tourism information desks.

Toilets in Public Transportation

If you are traveling a short distance via bus or subway, you can get off at the next station and use a nearby bathroom. Trains such as KTX and Saemaul have sections where there are bathrooms. Airplanes, of course, have bathrooms on the front and the back of the plane.

The real concern is when you are traveling on an Express Bus. These buses don’t stop in many places. But, what if there is a lot of distance left till the rest stop and destination? No need to hold it in, you can tell the driver, and he will then pull over to the closest stop with a Korean bathroom. Its just that easy and drivers are pretty cool about it.

If you are traveling to South Korea, check out our other guides in the Understanding Korean Culture series.

  • Understanding Korean culture: Restaurant culture in South Korea
  • Understanding Korean culture: Transportation culture in South Korea

Did you know, South Korea has a café whose theme is based on ‘poop’!

Check out Ddo-Ong Café (Poop Café), Insadong where the fascination with excretion is beyond anyone’s comprehension. In case you didn’t catch on, ‘ddong’ is the Korean word for poop. Everything, including the food selection and beverages, match this #2 theme. The menu selection is quite impressive, especially with food and drinks served in poop-themed cutlery.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ddo-ong cafe (@ddoongcafe)

 45,232 total views,  48 views today

What’s your thoughts?
+1
11
+1
0
+1
7
+1
1
+1
2
+1
0
+1
0
Facebook Twitter Email
Tags: Korean CulturePublic TransportTravel Tips
ShareTweetShareSendSend
KoreaTravelPost Editor

KoreaTravelPost Editor

Hello there! I'm the Features Editor for KoreaTravelPost.

Related Posts

korean festival
Korean Culture

Popular South Korean Festivals and Celebrations

May 30, 2023
korean holidays
Korean Culture

Korean Holidays: A Guide to the Important Dates in Korea’s Calendar

January 16, 2023
seollal lunar New Year's Day Korea
Korean Culture

Seollal – Lunar New Year’s Day in South Korea

January 10, 2023
korean tea ceremony
Food & Drink

All You Need to Know About Korean Tea and Korean Tea Ceremony

November 7, 2022
korean flag
Korean Culture

Taegeukgi: The South Korean Flag – A Brief History

October 27, 2022
chuseok
Activities

Things to Do During Chuseok in South Korea

September 5, 2022
Next Post
Sejong National Arboretum

Korea’s First National Arboretum - Sejong National Arboretum

No Result
View All Result

FREE NEWSLETTER

 

PRODUCTS

More from our network


  • ktd

  • atd

  • itd

  • ktt

  • kgd

  • kpp

  • ktp

  • kpoppost

  • ustechtimes

Categories

  • Accomodation
  • Activities
  • Attractions
  • Day Tours
  • Food & Drink
  • K-Entertainment Tours
  • Korean Culture
  • Must Buy
  • Shopping Destinations
  • Transportation
  • TRAVEL
  • Travel Essentials
  • Travel News in Korea
  • Travel Tips

Tags

Korean Cafes Buddhist Temple Seoul Korean Restaurants Travel Tips Entertainment Tours Busan Korean Food Korean Culture Natural Beauty

Copyright © 2023 About Us| Terms of Use |Privacy Policy|Cookie Policy| Contact : press@koreatravelpost.com

No Result
View All Result
  • Shop
  • My Account
    • Checkout
  • Contact Us

Copyright © 2023 About Us| Terms of Use |Privacy Policy|Cookie Policy| Contact : press@koreatravelpost.com

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In