Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Loading...
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
Food window and entrance of center.
Indian Arts Center
Steaming Tender Restaurant
Tiptree Jam Museum entrance.
Tiptree Jam Museum
The Reading Room blends the intimacy of an inviting bar with the inviting solace of a good bookstore.
The Reading Room
Building
The Mountain House
Loading...

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All South Korea Suwon Mr. Toilet House

Mr. Toilet House

The toilet-shaped house of South Korea's sanitation pioneer is now a museum to the john.

Suwon, South Korea

B bitstory profile photo
Added By
bitstory
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
CAPTION
The Mr. Toilet House   Map Data © 2017 Google
A giant gold pile of poop near the entrance to the museum   Map Data © 2017 Google
There are many toilet-themed sculptures around the outside   Map Data © 2017 Google
The Mr. Toilet House   Map Data © 2017 Google
  Runawaydc / Atlas Obscura User
  Runawaydc / Atlas Obscura User
One of the many educational poo exhibits in the museum   Angie Papple Johnston / Atlas Obscura User
A look at old-style outhouses in the free sculpture garden outside the Mr. Toilet Museum   Angie Papple Johnston / Atlas Obscura User
A thoughtful sculpture at Mr. Toilet House   Angie Papple Johnston / Atlas Obscura User
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

Sim Jae-Duck, the one-time mayor of the city of Suwon, was born in a toilet at his grandparents' house, which may explain his life-long obsession with healthy latrines.

As mayor of Suwon in the 1990s and early 2000s, he led an effort to clean and beautify the city’s public toilets. He later founded the World Toilet Association, dedicated to doing the same for the world. Appropriately, he became known as “Mr. Toilet” by reputation.

In 2007, in honor of the founding of the WTA, he demolished his home and had a new one made, designed by Go Gi-wong to look like a giant toilet. It was Sim's dream house. He even named it Haewoojae, which translates to “a house to satisfy anxiety,” which is how restrooms are referred to in Korean temples.

After he died, the house was donated to the city and turned into a toilet museum. The house itself is the largest toilet sculpture in Korea, and has two floors of exhibitions about how important toilets are to the health of a society. Toilet-themed art is exhibited inside the museum and around on the grounds, much of which, including a giant golden pile of poop, make for great photo ops. Take in the oversized 'squatty potty', the sometimes-pained statues all trying to take care of business, and a model of how the pigs on Jeju-do get to be black.

Places

Discover your next amazing Atlas Place.

Get more unusual and extraordinary places each week with the Atlas Obscura Places newsletter.

Your newsletter subscriptions with us are subject to Atlas Obscura's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Know Before You Go

Busses 64, 65, and 98 go to Dongwon High School (동원고교 - Dong-won go-gyo), from which it is a ten minute walk.Alternatively, start from Sadang station in southern Seoul (line 4, exit 4, then take a U-turn to the bus stop)  and take red bus 7800. It's a bit of a ride, as you're getting out of Seoul for awhile. Eventually, you'll get off at the Dongwon High School bus stop (동원고교 - Dong-won go-gyo). From the bus stop, walk to the intersection and turn right. It's about 500 meters and you'll see it on the right.

Community Contributors

B bitstory profile photo

Added By

bitstory

chrisbacke profile photo AaronNetsky profile photo Angie Papple Johnston profile photo Runawaydc profile photo

Edited By

chrisbacke, AaronNetsky, Angie Papple Johnston, Runawaydc

  • chrisbacke profile photo chrisbacke
  • AaronNetsky profile photo AaronNetsky
  • Angie Papple Johnston profile photo Angie Papple Johnston
  • Runawaydc profile photo Runawaydc

Published

September 1, 2017

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/ATR/SI_EN_3_1_1_1.jsp?cid=1998223
  • https://toilography.com/2014/08/10/mr-toilet-house/
  • https://kotaku.com/5923416/korea-gets-a-theme-park-dedicated-to-toilets-and-crap-that-goes-in-them/
  • http://www.haewoojae.com/eng/load.asp?subPage=540
  • http://travel.cnn.com/seoul/visit/mr-toilet-house-turned-toilet-museum/
  • https://www.lonelyplanet.com/south-korea/suwon/attractions/mr-toilet-house/a/poi-sig/1513511/357402
  • http://www.withwta.org/home_en/i3.php?s=13
  • http://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-asia-20258175/world-s-first-toilet-theme-park-opens-in-south-korea
  • https://www.oneweirdglobe.com/destination-suwon-toilet-museum-mr-toilets-house/

Related Tags

Bathrooms Architecture Architectural Oddities Museums Health
Mr. Toilet House
186-3 Imok-dong
Janjan-gu
Suwon
South Korea
37.319172, 126.977982
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

Kosik the talking elephant

Yongin-si, South Korea

miles away

Banpo Bridge Moonlight Rainbow Fountain

Seoul, South Korea

miles away

Sky Pizza

Seoul, South Korea

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of South Korea

South Korea

Asia

Places 110
Stories 14

Nearby Places

Kosik the talking elephant

Yongin-si, South Korea

miles away

Banpo Bridge Moonlight Rainbow Fountain

Seoul, South Korea

miles away

Sky Pizza

Seoul, South Korea

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of South Korea

South Korea

Asia

Places 110
Stories 14

Related Places

  • Black and White House Museum

    Hereford, England

    Black and White House Museum

    This iconic Tudor home-turned-museum offers a unique glimpse into the everyday life of a prosperous family during the early modern period.

  • Santa Fe Depot

    Shawnee, Oklahoma

    Santa Fe Depot

    Though it's no longer a functioning train depot, this castle-like structure is an important piece of Oklahoma history.

  • Inside the mansion/art gallery.

    Ubud, Indonesia

    Blanco Renaissance Museum

    Visitors to this museum will find architectural oddities, an art gallery, and an unlikely bird sanctuary.

  • Backyard.

    Taxco, Mexico

    Casa Figueroa

    This "cursed house" features secret rooms, hidden vaults, and dark escape tunnels.

  • Tower of the Storks (center).

    Cáceres, Spain

    Torre de las Cigüeñas (Tower of the Storks)

    The tallest tower in Cáceres's Old Town.

  • Lifesize model of Allosaurus with the museum in the backdrop.

    Colunga, Spain

    Jurassic Museum of Asturias

    A wonderful collection of fossilized dinosaurs and other creatures that roamed the landscape millions of years ago.

  • Cedar Lake's two-story outhouse.

    Cedar Lake, Michigan

    Two-Story Outhouse

    There are two legends behind the origin of this unusually tall sanitary structure.

  • House, art gallery, and museum.

    Puerto Varas, Chile

    Pablo Fierro Museum

    This fairytale house on the shore of a Chilean Lake oozes an eclectic mix of Chilote and German Cultural heritage.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2026 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.