Han River's new public toilets to 'raise city's overall dignity'

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Han River's new public toilets to 'raise city's overall dignity'

Published: 04 Mar. 2025, 18:07

CHO JUNG-WOO
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

The city government temporarily installed a newly designed street stand, right, and shoe repair stand on a sidewalk in Jung District, central Seoul. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

Visitors to Seoul’s Han River on the search for quick relief, tired of the same smelly, cramped stalls, could soon expect newly designed public toilets following increased complaints that the existing facilities are outdated.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government revealed that it will accept applications for contract services to develop new designs for 101 portable restrooms along the elevated areas by the river banks through March 5.

The city government plans to first establish a standardized design to unify the different public toilet structures currently in place.

“Our goal is to design clean, safe and easily accessible public restrooms while also establishing a management system, starting with a user survey,” a city official said.

“Since public restrooms are key facilities that reflect a city’s cultural standards, well-designed restrooms can enhance the city’s overall dignity.”

Japan’s Tokyo Toilet Project serves as an example, launched ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games. The initiative invited 16 artists, architects and designers to renovate 17 public lavatories in Shibuya, challenging the stereotype that public restrooms are “dirty and uninviting.”

One of the most striking designs from the project featured transparent glass walls that turn opaque when occupied. The innovative designs gained widespread attention and were prominently featured in the Oscar-nominated film “Perfect Days” (2023).

A man gets out of one of the transparent glass toilets after use at Yoyogi Hukamachi Mini Park in Tokyo on Aug. 20, 2020. The bathrooms with the tinted wall turn opaque when it's in use. The walls of two newly installed public toilets in Tokyo's Shibuya neighborhood are see-through before people enter, but turn opaque when the doors are closed and locked from the inside. The so-called transparent toilets, which opened this month, were designed by award-winning Japanese architect Shigeru Ban for a project organized by The Nippon Foundation that redesigned a total of 17 public toilets in the neighborhood. [AP/YONHAP]

Along with public toilets, vendor and shoe repair stands in Seoul will also undergo their first redesign in 16 years, incorporating brighter colors for a more modern appearance, according to the city government.

“Previous stands were built in darker shades to blend with their surroundings,” a city official said.

“But as more glass buildings and granite sidewalk blocks have been introduced, the stands have become more noticeable. To match the changing cityscape, we decided to update the color to a brighter shade of Seoul Darkgray.”

Seoul Darkgray is a shade of “Kiwa,” the country's oriental tiles that symbolize traditional Korean architecture.

A man works at a shoe repair stand with a design from before standardization. [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

The first standardized design for shoe repair stands in Seoul in 2008 [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

The new street stand design includes higher ceilings, extending to 2 meters (6.6 feet), and a skylight to allow natural light inside. Additional improvements include hopper vents and increased space for large air conditioners and storage.

“I used to feel cramped because of the low ceilings and tight space in the previous design,” said Kim Sang-mok, a shoe repair stand operator in Eunpyeong District, northern Seoul, on Feb. 27.

“But the new design has improved both the height and windows, as well as insulation, making it much better to work in.”

A new design for shoe repair stands in Seoul [SEOUL METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT]

Seoul first standardized the design of street stands and shoe repair stands in 2008. In response to criticism that these structures harmed the city's aesthetics, Mayor Oh Se-hoon introduced a city design ordinance in 2006 to regulate public facilities and spaces.

“Standardizing stand designs has not only improved the city's appearance but also helped operators work in better conditions,” a city official said.

“Additionally, the new design has become more popular due to lower maintenance costs after standardizing the equipment.”

Over the next three years, some 1,100 street stands and shoe repair stands will be replaced with the new design upon request.

BY HAN EUN-HWA [[email protected]]