Editorial Haewoojae Surpasses 2 Million Visitors: The World's Only Toilet Culture Exhibition Hall
The achievements of former Suwon Mayor Shim Jae-deok, sometimes called an ‘eternal mayor of Suwon,’ during his lifetime were truly remarkable. He successfully completed major projects including the restoration of Suwon Hwaseong Haenggung, the UNESCO World Heritage registration of Suwon Hwaseong Fortress, the restoration of Suwon Stream as a natural river, the World Cup bid and stadium construction, and the establishment of Suwon Yeanhwajang and resource recovery facilities.
And even until his dying breath, the cause to which he remained devoted was the toilet culture movement. During his tenure as mayor, public restrooms throughout Suwon improved to revolutionary levels. Despite harsh criticism of ‘wasting money,’ he improved the public restrooms across Suwon to revolutionary standards.
Domestic and international media outlets competed to report on Suwon’s ‘toilet revolution,’ and soon benchmarking visits from home and abroad became constant.
Suwon became a global hub of the toilet culture movement. Not content with this alone, he founded the World Toilet Association and brought its headquarters to Korea. He even built his own residence in the shape of a toilet and named his house ‘Haewoojae.’
When Mayor Shim Jae-deok passed away, his family donated the Haewoojae building, land, and personal belongings to Suwon City for free in 2009. The Haewoojae in Imok-dong, Jangan-gu, where he lived, underwent remodeling and officially opened on October 30, 2010, as ‘Haewoojae,’ a toilet culture exhibition hall. It was reborn as the world’s only specialized exhibition hall where visitors can easily and enjoyably experience the history and culture of toilets around the world.
Now it has established itself as a tourist route linked to local tourist resources such as Suwon Hwaseong Fortress, and visits from foreign tourists and group visitors continue steadily. It has become a signature tourist attraction of Suwon Special City.
On the 10th, a meaningful commemorative event was held on the lawn in front of the Haewoojae toilet culture exhibition hall. (Related article: News S, 12th, ‘Haewoojae in Suwon surpasses 2 million cumulative visitors...establishing itself as a representative complex cultural space’) It was an occasion to celebrate surpassing 2 million cumulative visitors.
The protagonists who entered as the 2 millionth visitor that day were a group of daycare center visitors. Haewoojae presented a certificate and gifts to the daycare center visitors who entered as the 2 millionth guests.
Haewoojae, a uniquely designed building shaped like a toilet, operates outdoor sculptures, experiential exhibition spaces, and various cultural events, making it popular with both domestic and international tourists. It particularly receives steady affection from children and family group visitors.
Haewoojae is a cultural space where anyone can easily and enjoyably appreciate the value and importance of public hygiene culture. To “expand children’s educational programs and citizen-participatory cultural events while strengthening its role as a complex cultural space” going forward, active support from Suwon City and Gyeonggi Province is needed.