Oh, Korea...

[dedalusj]

Since I am moving to Canada, I will have extra toilet paper when I leave.  Because of this, I decided to take some to work and use it up there.  In a moment of inspiration the university decided that not putting TP in the bathroom stalls would be a great way to save money.  So I figured that I would take some, leave it in the stall and since all

Comments

[ihatebibimbap]

the smell of the rubbish bin is especially fun when it's humid!

aren't they supposed to be replacing those toilets with modern toilets now? everyone keeps on telling me that but i probably encountered a modern toilet like...once, in a park :|

[dedalusj]

As with most things, location, location, location. In Korea as a whole it is about 70% modern and 30% 'squaties.' In Seoul, 'squaties' are not very common. I got over my reluctance to use them in Thailand when, like everyone in Thailand, I had to use the bathroom very suddenly and very often and sometimes 'squaties' were the only option. My favorites are the ones that have just been cleaned making the part where you put your feet quite slippery.

[puppet_princess]

Crazy cleaning ladies. lol

[dedalusj]

You have no idea. They also come into the men's room without announcing themselves, all the time.

Bathrooms in Korea and a very popular topic for ex-pats here.

[sockmonkeyjoe]

When I was at Yonsei, I knew of a few bathrooms on campus that were rarely used, and they were kind of my personal stalls. Luckily Yonsei's got money and doesn't skimp on TP, though.

[beanrows]

I think theft prevention is in fact the theory behind not putting essentials in public bathrooms (or having communal TP that you're supposed to pick up before you go in. urgh). It's a habit left over/passed down from pre-economic growth days. See also: grandmothers stealing a purseful of food from buffets.

Also, I always flushed TP when I was in Korea and nothing bad happened that I could see. SO THERE, crappy bathroom system.

[dedalusj]

I will NEVER EVER throw away TP. It is just wrong on so many levels. Why throw it away when there is a perfectly good toilet to put it in RIGHT THERE.

I talked to 여친 about it and she said it was probably students and admitted to taking rolls when she was a student.

"And you wonder why we don't have nice things."

[puppet_princess]

It's a crazy world when we start calling toilet paper "nice things." I always used top picture something a tad more expensive...

[pisica_habibi]

....why would students need to steal toliet paper? And how is tp a "nice thing"??? Am I missing something?

[squishibananas]

What’s this beef everyone’s got against squat toilets? They’re my best friend now that winter’s come (I’m also proud of writing “beef” - exquisite American slang taught to me by the best).

I didn’t realise I had to take toilet paper from an outside source when I first started using the toilets at school. That was quite awkward for the first couple (maybe more but that’s not what I wrote) of times.

So, um, when ya movin’ and when’s the garage sale? :D

[dedalusj]

You shouldn't have American beef. Word on the street is it'll make you crazy. ^^

What’s this beef everyone’s got against squat toilets?

1. Slipping
2. Getting shit on your pants
3. Not sitting comfortable
4. Not being able to read
5. Having to balance
6. Slipping
7. Did I mention slipping because those bastards are bloody slippery.

moving time is late Feb/early March. If you come to Andong, I'll hook you up. I got the good stuff: Joyce, Miller, Eliot (the girl one), Melville, Leonard and more.

[squishibananas]

Proudest moment of my 한평생 was when I saw the advertising for 롯데리아. 호주에서 온 소고기 oh hellz yeah I’ll have summah dat.

What are you even slipping on? You know you’re supposed to wear shoes in there, right? I’ve never even once gone to slip and my toilets don’t have that grip stuff like on the bottom of baths/showers so that babies don’t fall over in the water. And at the risk of being far too familiar even for the interwebs, come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve had the divine experience of doing a #2 in those toilets… coffee triggers the other one, experts say.

ㄴㅇㄴ you can keep your prostitutes Joyce and Eliot; I’m just after some sweet, sweet, second-hand gear. Let me know when the sale is on/good time for me to pop ‘round and we’ll be there (“we” meaning me and my homies - we’re all still Uni students. Explain much?).

[dedalusj]

Wait, you're a student? I thought you were teaching.

As a male of the species, I only squat in squaties for #2. And God, yes I wear shoes, those things are so dirty, so dirty I worry about how dirty the soles of my shoes get. But they are also very wet and that makes them slippery, especially when you are in a position like that and your weight is distributed so awkwardly. Regardless I avoid them for all but the most dire emergencies.

Prostitutes? Joyce and Eliot? You do know I am talking about James Joyce and George Eliot, right? For me books are sweet, sweet, (American-ism, actually a Maine-ism coming up) wicked sweet gear. In fact there is a lot of 'essential' things I'd give up before books