Korea Vs. China

Chinese toilet....

Korean toilet....

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Korean Magic Toilets

I’d heard about these toilets in Asia that sing and dance and do all sorts of tricks, but I wasn’t expecting to see one. I thought they were a myth, or something you only find in the most high-tech areas of Tokyo. But they’re actually quite common here!

We were in Shinsegea, a huge department store in the centre of Cheonan (not actually shopping, just enjoying the air conditioning) and I found the most high-tech of toilets I have ever seen. It had a panel of buttons: some had pictures, the rest written in Korean: heated seat, music, water spray, blow dry and one button with a picture of lightening on it - I didn’t press that one!

I was very excited and wanted to take a picture to show my friends, so I bobbed down and pressed the water spray button, ready with my camera. I was expecting a gentle spray of water from the little pipe that popped out of nowhere – not the raging torrent that came out! The water shot over my head and hit the door behind me, rebounding and soaking all of my back, before rushing down the door like a waterfall and forming a river on the floor which flowed under the door and out into the rest of the room. It wouldn’t stop!!

Soaked and ashamed, I rushed past the queue of people waiting to use my cubicle and ran straight out of the toilets. I sped straight past Ric, telling him to “run!” on my way past and then burst out laughing.

Just as the torrent hit my back

So many buttons!

Mortified, I realised I had left my sunglasses in the cubicle and had to go back and revisit the scene of the crime.