Mr. Toilet House? A toilet museum in Suwon, South Korea
The big gold-colored statue of a turd right next to the entrance was enough to tell me that Mr. Toilet House, the toilet museum in Suwon, South Korea, wasn’t going to be a disappointment!
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[Last updated: February 17, 2026]
Mr. Toilet House
Believe it or not, “Mr. Toilet House” is the popular name for the Toilet Culture Museum in Suwon, just south of Seoul. I hadn’t even heard of its existence until I arrived in Suwon, where my plan was to visit the Suwon palace and the fortifications of the historic town.
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know that I particularly love quirky little museums. They’re fun to visit and fun to write about. So, a toilet museum? I really had to see that!
When I asked about the museum at the Visitor Information Center in Suwon, next to the train station, the man there proudly pulled out his wallet and showed me a business card he carried with him. Not only did he have Mr. Toilet’s card, but it had even been autographed by Mr. Toilet himself.
Mr. Toilet and the World Toilet Association
It’s hard to know how much of this toilet museum is meant to be serious, and how much is meant to be funny.
The founder, Mr. Sim Jae-duck, who became known as Mr. Toilet, was clearly obsessed with all things toilet related. The story goes that he was actually born in an outdoor toilet and got teased about it as a child. A Freudian psychologist would have a field day with this!
Mr. Toilet grew up to become mayor of Suwon and founded his World Toilet Association in 2007. Its mission statement is:
For the humans’ dignity and their healthy lives, let world know the importance of toilets to public health and sanitation, as well as establish advanced toilet culture and contribute to humanity.
- Toilets are the key to sanitation
- Toilets are a sanctuary for human life and dignity
- All humans have a right to access adequate (Clean&Safe) toilet facilities
- Children, the disabled, and the elderly must be able to access and use toilets equally
- Future toilets must be eco-friendly in order to preserve the environment
- Toilet provisions should add benefit to the lives of local residents and they must be able to consistently maintain these facilities
All worthy and important ideas, of course, and the World Toilet Organization, a different NGO based in Singapore, would probably agree with them. The WTO was also founded by a man name Sim; I have no idea if they are related.
Mr. Toilet died in 2009, after which his family donated their house to become a toilet museum. (Factoid: There are other toilet museums in New Delhi, India and Kyiv, Ukraine.)
You might also like to read about these other sights in Seoul:
- Six(!) Seoul Palaces: Seoul has six palaces, and I visited them all.
- Seoul Tower without a date: A popular date destination with a big view.
- A tale of two Seoul neighborhoods: about two historical neighborhoods and how differently they’ve been treated.
- Hongik University Street: 6 best things to see
Mr. Toilet’s house
It isn’t surprising that his family would want to give the house away; Mr. Toilet’s obsession went so far that he redesigned his house so that it looked like a toilet. Not only that, the actual toilet in his house wasn’t hidden away, off to the side, like it normally would be, but sits right in the center of the ground floor. A full-size glass window allows the person sitting on the toilet to see through what I assume was their living room into the garden. If he wanted privacy, one flick of a switch turns the window opaque.
Think about this for a minute: he could see into the living room from the toilet. This meant that anyone in the living room at that particular moment could see him as he was doing his business, whether he was sitting on the toilet or standing at the urinal. Could they have a conversation? And if so, wouldn’t other sounds (and smells!) carry as well?
The living room, as well as the rest of the house, has been converted to gallery space, displaying information about toilets, of course.
If you’re planning a trip to this museum, book your accommodations in Suwon here. Suwon is quite near Seoul, and you could certainly see the museum as a day trip from Seoul. Book your Seoul accommodations here.
The toilet museum’s garden
It really gets hilarious – and somewhat graphic – out in the garden, where statues illustrate various facts about toilets and their history. At the entrance to the garden, the first statue is of “Toile,” a sort of golden turd with little wings. It’s the museum’s mascot. Why Toile has wings? I have no idea!
And it doesn’t get better after that. (Or maybe I should say it gets even better after that!)
Displays in the garden show toilets used around the world and throughout history: chamber pots, a Roman toilet, urinals, etc. It’s the statues of people that set it all up for ridicule. Most are metal, some are plaster, but they demonstrate the use of the facilities in graphic detail. How can you not laugh at these?
The Toilet Culture Center
As you can imagine, children would have a great time at the toilet museum. Across the road from Mr. Toilet House is a Toilet Culture Center. (This is also where the actual working public toilets for visitors are.)
The Toilet Culture Center includes the observation point (i.e. the roof) which allows visitors to get the full view of Mr. Toilet’s toilet-shaped house.
On the second floor is an interactive space for children. They can learn about poop and how it should look if it’s healthy, slide down a slide inside a huge toilet, sit on a seat that makes a farting sound, and learn the answers to why people fart. Unfortunately, while some of the questions are translated into English, many of the answers are only in Korean. If you bring your kids, make sure to do some studying up on excretory functions before you go, so you can answer their questions!
Since I visited, more exhibits have been added inside the building, including “Interesting toilet story.” This seems to be an exhibit about different kinds of toilets used around the world, some of which look quite amusing.
Now it’s your turn: let the scatological jokes begin! I’m already flushed with embarrassment! Add your comments below.
Mr Toilet House: 458-9 Jangan-ro, Jangan-gu, Suwon. From the Sungkyunkwan Univ. station Line 1, go out the 4th exit and take a local bus; many buses pass nearby the museum, so ask at the bus stop. Whatever bus you take, get off at Dongwon High School and walk about half a kilometer northwest from there. I would highly suggest just taking a taxi; it’ll be easier and faster. Hours: Open Tuesday-Sunday, March-October 10:00-18:00; November-February 10:00-17:00. Admission: free. Website.
My travel recommendations
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- Buy a GoCity Pass when you’re planning to do a lot of sightseeing on a city trip. It can save you a lot on admissions to museums and other attractions in big cities like New York and Amsterdam.
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Other travel-related items
- It’s really awkward to have to rely on WIFI when you travel overseas. I’ve tried several e-sim cards, and GigSky’s e-sim was the one that was easiest to activate and use. You buy it through their app and activate it when you need it. Use the code RACHEL10 to get a 10% discount!
- Another option I just recently tried for the first time is a portable wifi modem by WifiCandy. It supports up to 8 devices and you just carry it along in your pocket or bag! If you’re traveling with a family or group, it might end up cheaper to use than an e-sim. Use the code RACHELSRUMINATIONS for a 10% discount.
- I’m a fan of SCOTTeVEST’s jackets and vests because when I wear one, I don’t have to carry a handbag. I feel like all my stuff is safer when I travel because it’s in inside pockets close to my body.
- I use ExpressVPN on my phone and laptop when I travel. It keeps me safe from hackers when I use public or hotel wifi.
Rachel Heller is a writer living in Groningen, the Netherlands. She is the owner and primary author of this website, Rachel’s Ruminations, a travel blog focused on independent travel with an emphasis on cultural and historical sites/sights. Read more here about her and about this website. All photos in her articles are her own, unless otherwise specified. Rachel also owns and operates a website about World Heritage travel.
Graphic! OMG, i nearly wet myself when I got to the sculpture of the many having a bowel movement, and a solid gold poop at that.Too funny.
Wet yourself? Haha! There were more like that too!
Having spent several years of my professional career in the “toilet” business (ie as vice president of Kohler), I was not aware of a toilet museum and was interested in having a look at your article. I think that neither “museum” nor “culture” appropriately describe the nature of those displays!
I wondered about that myself: toilet culture? All I can think of is that it refers to the fact that different toilets are used in different parts of the world and/or they’re used differently?
I hardly know what to say…a fan of quirky museums myself, I don’t think I’ve encountered anything to top Mr. Toilet’s museum…or his house/living room, for that matter. My goodness. 🙂
I know what you mean! Speechless! But that’s what makes it so fun, isn’t it?
Wow! This is so up our ally. Thanks for giving us the poop on this museum. Sorry, had to do that.
Ha ha! Thanks for giving me a good laugh early in the morning!
All I could think of was “where do they come up with this sh–, er, stuff?” My husband, I’m rather embarrassed to admit, took pictures of nearly every toilet he encountered on our first trip to Europe together. Fortunately, that little predilection seems to have evaporated, although it is something everyone is curious about even if they don’t care to admit. 🙂
I admit it, I’ve done the same thing! In Japan and Korea they have buttons that do all sorts of interesting things. In Europe they have lots of different shapes. Yes, I’ve noticed. And sometimes taken a picture! Look at this bizarrely-arranged toilet: https://rachelsruminations.com/how-not-to-design-a-bathroom/
This toilet museum definitely ranks high up there in terms of quirkiness. I went to a toilet-themed restaurant in China~
A toilet-themed RESTAURANT? Were the seats toilets? I hope didn’t smell like a Chinese toilet! In my one-month trip there, the public toilets I used were almost all outrageously smelly. Please tell me you took pictures and wrote a post about it!
Hilarious! And who could argue with the Mission Statement? Mr. Toilet sounds like a man with a plan although, given his obsession, I imagine his conversation would be focused on one topic only – or maybe number two? (Sorry, I couldn’t resist!)
Haha! Maybe he just had a gut feeling about it?
I think I’ll skip this one. However, you might be interested in a photo gallery of mine that highlights Loos with Views and mentions this very museum! http://berkeleyandbeyond.com/Way-Beyond/Photo-Galleries/Loos-with-a-View/loos-with-a-view.html
Great photos of loos with views! I would add the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, which I toured many years ago. It’s up at the top of an office building and in the suite I saw, the bathroom had an amazing full-wall window view of SF with the bathtub right next to it.
What a shitty story! And I mean that in the nicest way possible!!
LOL! Maybe calling it ‘crappy’ would suffice?
I would love to go to the Toilet Museum and my tween so would have a field day taking photographs, selfies and videos. I can imagine it now. Lovely post!
Thank you! Though I certainly wouldn’t call the place lovely. The prettiest thing there was a row of child-sized toilets that were being used as flowerpots!
Talk about a unique place to visit! The Toilet Culture Museum would probably make it to our list of places not to miss! What an um.. interesting display of the history of toilets!
Yes, interesting! That can mean so many things!
I’ve got a regular blog feature showcasing Aussie Scenic Public Loos, and I’ve even written a whole book about loos – “Aussie Loos with Views!” – but I never imagined that anything like this even existed!! I don’t know if I’ll ever get to see it, but it sure is worth holding on for!!!
Hahaha! Does it inspire you a) to go there? or b) to set up your own Aussie Loo museum?