Restroom Map Produced to Accommodate Foreigners

"The last time I went to Dongdaemun Market with my friends," explained one foreigner, "we had a very hard time finding public bathrooms. We wandered more than 10 minutes looking for them!"

"It isn't easy to find bathrooms in New York City," said another, "but Korea is worse. Public bathrooms in Korea are very dirty and don't even have doors!"

What do foreigners really think about Korean public restrooms?

Click Culture, a cultural exchange internet site, selected public restrooms as the first subject of their 'Seoul Culture Map' project. "We've always thought that public restrooms were pretty poor in Korea," explained Click Culture's creators. "Foreigners are inconvenienced when forced to use them. That's why we decided to tackle them first."

The Restroom Map, which was drawn up by 10 foreigners in Korea after a year of research, marks the facilities for eight different parts of Seoul: City Hall, Myong-dong, Apgujung-dong, Hongik University, Shinchon, Sports Complex, Itaewon, and Namdaemun.

In order to induce favorable impressions of Korea, the map steers foreigners to unique and interesting public restrooms. It introduces 'the restroom where you can make many Russian friends' (Itaewon), 'the restroom which has the most beautiful night view' (T Restaurant in Chongno), and 'the place you can go anytime just to use the restroom' (S cafe in Myungdong).

"We hope our Culture Map will provide helpful information to foreigners," said Click Culture's section chief. "We also want the map to generate good impressions of Seoul."

2000 copies of the Seoul Culture Map will be printed and made available free of charge at airports and tourist information centers.

by Park Hyun-young