At Home in Mr. Toilet's House

by Lynette Lee Corporal

SUWON, South Korea IPS - Generally relegated to the far and hidden corners of a house, or even outside in rural areas, toilets have never been given the attention they deserve. But on a chilly November morning last month, the toilet finally took centre stage in Suwon, about 40 km from Seoul, to the delight and curiosity of an adoring crowd.

Holding onto ceremonial gold ropes, excited guests pulled off the cloth canopy that covered the world's first ever 'Toilet House' at the shout of 'Haewoojae!' from the crowd. 'Haewoojae' literally means 'a place where one can solve one's worries,' and this toilet bowl-shaped house is about to become a symbol for a movement that is aimed at solving one of the world's most pressing problems -- toilet sanitation.

Built by Korean National Assembly Rep. Sim Jae-Duck to commemorate the World Toilet Association General Assembly (WTAA – see accompanying column) held Nov. 21-25 in the capital city of Seoul, the Toilet House epitomizes everything that the World Toilet Association stands for.

"We want the Haewoojae to change the unpleasant concepts surrounding toilets and the misperceptions about toilets,” said Sim, who proudly calls himself 'Mr Toilet'. “We should learn to go beyond seeing toilets as just a place for defecation, but also as a place of culture where people can rest, meditate and be happy." Rep. Sim is also the chairman of the organizing committee of the WTAA inauguration.

In a nutshell, the chairman's goals in building this one-of-a-kind residence are to raise awareness about the importance of water and sanitation and, through fund-raising projects and dialogues with different groups, help provide toilets in countries lacking in proper toilet facilities.

Apart from it being toilet-shaped, the Haewoojae has a toilet built right smack in the centre of the house. Overall, the two-storey house has four toilets equipped with advanced amenities. The centre toilet is transparent and everything can be seen from the living room. But as soon as a special sensor detects movement in the toilet, the glass encasement immediately fogs up so that the user can enjoy his or her privacy.

Designer Ko Kiwoong made sure that the Haewoojae was up to Sim Jae-Duck's standards. After all, the place where the structure is now standing has been Mr. Toilet's home for over 30 years. The WTAA chairman tore down his old house and is now ready to live in his Toilet House, all for the sake of spreading awareness as to the importance of toilet hygiene and sanitation.

"I was committed to making a pleasant toilet-shaped house and we wanted to emphasise the house's eco-friendly features, including the use of rainwater as energy resource and water-saving facility via a 3.5-tonne rain water tank. We also made use of solar panels and installed it with facilities to purify sewage," said Ko Kiwoong.

Sim Jae-Duck is hoping that the Toilet House will serve as an inspiration for people to start thinking about the problems of water shortage and lack of sanitation in many parts of the world. "Fifty percent of daily water usage are consumed in toilets, so it's a good idea if we learn to conserve and recycle water and be an example to others as well," he said. Haewoojae's toilets, he added, "use 70 percent less water than the average toilet".

Another factor that makes Toilet House unique is its toilets' adherence to and promotion of natural and cultural influences. As the WTAA chairman explained, he wanted to present toilets as a cultural space filled with soothing music and paintings, enriched all the more by scenes from nature. The Haewoojae toilets' fixtures were constructed not as separate features but as a whole.

To jumpstart the Toilet House's goals of raising enough money to help improve toilets worldwide, Sim is offering anyone who is willing to donate 50,000 U.S. dollars as seed money for this noble cause, an overnight stay at the Toilet House. So far, he has received feelers from three applicants -- a businessman, a politician, and "one who just has money to spare.” Two of the applicants are foreigners and one is Korean.

"It is not about the money,”Sim said. “The most important thing for us is to find someone who shares our ideas and goals of improving toilet sanitation worldwide and who will be dedicated in spreading this cause.” The successful applicant will be chosen early next year.

Toilet House visitors who do not have 50,000 dollars but who want to help anyway, can donate one dollar to the 'Toilet for Humanity Campaign', which was also launched at the opening of the Toilet House. Eventually, he envisions his Toilet House becoming a museum for people interested in learning more about toilet sanitation.

Lest people become stuck in the physical structure and features of the Haewoojae, Sim Jae-Duck reminds everyone that the house is just a symbol for the hard work ahead. "This is just the beginning of my dream. My dream is for the whole world to work together to allow everyone to enjoy sanitary, cultural and environment-friendly toilets. I want no one to suffer from the absence of toilet facilities," Sim said in an official statement.

The WTAA chairman clarifies that they are not after the money or the fame (the Toilet House has been submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records). "Ultimately, our goal is to make people happy and to live healthy lives. It is, after all, a basic human right to have access to clean toilets, however basic these may be. We are trying to make a statement via the Toilet House, that it's about time to break the taboo about toilets and that it's time that we talk about this problem facing 2.6 billion people around the world."