Fifty-first Post Extravaganza !

So, I promised something for fifty posts and being lazy, I waited until my fifty-first to do it. So, here it is. My special presentation of an integral part of Korean, nay, any society- bathrooms.

I had heard prior to coming over here that the bathrooms were quite different than those in the good ol' US of A and going over to Korea, I was uncertain how I felt about this. I mean, bathrooms are one of the few things you just don't mess with.

I walked into the bathroom and saw a familiar mainstay of bathrooms in general: the sink. Ah, yes, the familiar faucet, the sink itself and the drain. But...wait. Aren't we forgetting something? Ah, yes. Soap, right? Oh, but it is there!

I can hear you already: "Reven, you jerk. There is no soap in that picture! There's just that suspiciously flower-esque thing over on the left where the soap would normally be." To which I would answer: "Why, that is the soap." Right there:

"Wait, it is?" Yes. Indeed that is the soap. It is merely a bar of soap, impaled upon a metal rod attached to the wall. How it is used is by getting your hands damp with water and rubbing your hands in an oscillating manner up and down. As you could imagine, it has gotten quite a few rude nicknames and special sarcasm from the guys utilizing it. If you have to think about it, don't worry about it.

The urinals were a bit more familiar, though there was a conspicuous lack of dividers between the urinals which felt a little odd, personally. Also, coupled with that is the fact that there is a sensor which flushes the urinal with water. This is, by no means, unusual in and of itself. However, the fact that it flushes *before* and *after* you start to...err...eliminate, was a bit different. Nevertheless, it was not that weird.


The stalls themselves looked also quite familiar from the outside, except for the fact that the doors seemed lower to the ground than in the US (not a bad thing in my mind) and the locks on the inside seemed much sturdier than the ones I have been accustomed to (which again, is not a bad thing).

The bowl itself looked the same, though can you imagine the one thing that did catch my eye? What doesn't look exactly right:




You find it? Ah, the wastebasket right by the bowl. Now, I asked one of my Korean friends what that's used for. His response was simple: that's where you put the toilet paper after you are finished using it.

My expression was blank. "Excuse me?"

"Yes. That's what you do."

"Really?"

Dead silent, I resolved to always break that cultural norm. I don't care if that's the culture- that's just wrong and unsanitary. Yikes. The rationale for that according to my Korean friend is that the sewage pipes get clogged up from excess paper being flushed, therefore, paper shouldn't be flushed. That's all well and good, but...seriously?

Anyways, this little cultural feature took place in the fourth floor men's room in the Business Building of Hanyang University. I've hoped you've enjoyed this little feature and continue reading along!

-Reven