@DomHyo: Lucky. At first I so hrmph! about not having toilet paper and having to bring my own from home. ha ha… It’s those little western tics we’re so used to assuming that Korea teaches us to change.

@maakopla: That’s smart of you to stock up. This was one of the first big culture shocks for me when I arrived in Korea.

Okay, if you put it that way. Anyway, i am pretty used to the fact that most of the public toilets in any Asian countries don’t have toilet papers (even in schools) so I failed to notice this. That’s why I always stock up on tissues xD

@maakopla: With my World’s Worst Toilet series, worst isn’t always defined by “lack of cleanliness”. You might have missed the point entirely- the fact these are public elementary school bathrooms, with no toilet paper and that little elementary school kids have to tear sheets of tp from the classroom roll to take with them (or I and the rest of the teachers have to carry a roll with them to the bathroom) on a DAILY ONGOING basis, puts it in one of *my* worst categories.

@Andrew: Thanks for sharing! Yup, your experience was mine!I totally agree that toilets w/ no tp only adds to overcompensation.I’m bad at gauging, so I used to take my tp roll with me all the time. But it tells everyone what your business is. For kids, I imagine it just makes them a bit dirtier– to undercompensate…ooh. Sorry about your bum hand. The pants shimmying (ha ha…) couldn’t have been fun or funny at the time!

@Laura: Definite thumbs up to western toilets! But no toilet seats…makes me think, it’s just as good as a squatter and perhaps worse. I wonder if anyone stands on those seats like a squatter?

There was a roll or two of toilet paper in every classroom to my knowledge and the children asked for it when they needed it. Otherwise they were to do without.

I found that this policy actually contributed to waste. How so? I would never be caught with ‘my pants down’ both metaphorically and literally, so it caused me to overcompensate. If I were to run out, what options did I have? You either have to bring the whole roll or you have to bring enough to make sure you will not run out.

I know this because it was my life for two years. Also, I broke my dominant hand while in Korea (in the batting cages) and was left using a squatter and trying to shimmy my pants up/down with my bum hand. Oh, the joys of travel! Another insightful and relevant post. This is 100% accurate based upon my two years in Korea. ^^