SUWON, South Korea - Rodin's Thinker is pondering even
harder than usual as he sits astride a toilet at what has been
dubbed the world's first theme park dedicated to the humble
restroom - a monument to one South Korean man's vision.
The park, located about an hour outside of Seoul in the city of
Suwon - otherwise known as the home of Samsung Electronics -
centers around a toilet-shaped museum building that was once the
home of Sim Jae-duck, founder and first president of the World
Toilet Association.
Legend has it that Sim, a former Suwon mayor who made his fortune
with a metal products business and was dubbed "Mr Toilet," was born
in his impoverished grandmother's outhouse.
"He is a man whose life literally began in a toilet and ended at a
commode-shaped house," said Lee Yeun-sook, manager of planning at
the "Mr Toilet Sim Jae-duck Foundation".
Sim, who died in 2009 at the age of 70, shot to fame in South Korea
when he provided loos for soccer fans when the country hosted the
2002 World Cup.
Before Mr.Toilet's house was donated to Suwon city, visitors could
book it for an overnight stay, but at the cost of $50,000 a night -
the charge to raise money for a toilet building charity. There were
no takers.
Other exhibits at the park include Korean traditional squat
toilets, European bedpans, and Marcel Duchamp's sculpture
"Fountain," a porcelain urinal.
A couple takes a break on chamber pots at the Toilet Culture
Park in Suwon, about 46 km (29 miles) south of Seoul November 23,
2012. The park, which is the only one of its type in the world,
exhibits a variety of bowls from Korean traditional squat toilets
to western bedpans.
A visitor poses for a photo by his friend
A toilet sign depicting character mascots are seen at the Choko
Group mascot school in Tokyo,
A tourist poses for photos by his friend (not seen) next to an
installation shaped like Auguste Rodin's sculpture "The Thinker" on
a toilet,
Visitors point to a board with a pictogram of the world's
toilets,