"Clean toilets are a universal right" ... the 50th k-toilet in Laos.

[Anchor]
a natural bathroom for us,

But maybe not somewhere on the other side of the world.

Suwon City and the World Toilet Association are carrying out projects to support the installation of public toilets in various developing countries around the world.

Reporter Yuh-hyun covered Laos on the spot.

[Journalist]
The Watsimeang temple in Vientiane, Laos.The Korean flag hangs on one side of this place, a tourist attraction visited by hundreds of people every day



It is a public toilet completed by Suwon City and the World Toilet Association. The existing bathroom, which had been closed due to poor conditions, has been renovated.

The World Toilet Association was established in 2007 and is an international non-governmental organization with government agencies from 66 countries.

We are working on the 'Toilet of Hope Project' to build public toilets in developing countries with insufficient toilets and poor sanitary conditions.

The goal is to reduce waterborne diseases with clean toilets and to increase the level of health and hygiene of people around the world.

[Lee Jae-joon / Suwon Mayor, President of the World Toilet Association: Half of the world's population has problems with toilets. Among them, 500 million people do not benefit from the toilet culture at all due to bowel movements on the street. The World Toilet Association will work to make it universally available to all humans and free from the sanitary environment.]

Suwon City's interest in toilets began about 20 years ago.Former Suwon Mayor Shim Jae-deok

promoted the advancement of public toilets ahead of the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup.

He demolished his house and built a toilet cultural exhibition hall modeled after a toilet, and even got the nickname "Mr. Toylet."

[The late Shim Jae-deok / Former Mayor of Suwon City, President of the World Toilet Association: The world must sympathize with each other through proper understanding of toilet culture, technology, and information exchange. And for the dissemination of the world of the right bathroom culture to the next level....]

Suwon City's efforts to become a leading local government in the world beyond the region continued steadily afterwards,

Starting with supporting the installation of the first public toilet in Naimeni Town, Kumasi, Ghana in 2008, it has already recorded the establishment of the 50th 'Suwon Public Toilet'.

He emphasized that he would not stop until the day when the bathroom, which is reluctant to mention, becomes an important space directly connected to life and safety.

I'm YTN's YOSHIHYUN.

Reporter for filming
: Lee Soo-yeon