Cultural Experience -- technological toilet

Tuesday after class I took the train to Daejeon where Dong Won Kim met me and took me to buy my janggu drum (more on that at a later time). Afterward we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant, a favorite of his when he's in the city. As we were leaving I used the rest room which was, as Dong Won had promised, extremely nice. Having done what I came in to do, I was confronted with a control panel that looked complicated enough to operate a 747--with all instructions in Korean. I was standing by the side of the toilet, attempting to see small characters with my bifocals and trying to figure out which was the "flush" button (my Korean class has not covered this vital vocabulary) when I decided to push the most prominent button. Wrong choice. . . . Frozen in disbelief, I watched a thin tube emerge from the top back of the toilet bowl and begin to send out a stream of clean, warm, water. With no body sitting in position to block the water, it spewed out hitting the back of the stall door and puddling on the floor. I grabbed my purse and camera hanging on the door (they got only slightly damp) and frantically tried to stop the water. I finally must have hit the right button (or it stopped automatically). But there I was with dripping door, wet floor, and still unflushed toilet. Carefully avoiding button number 1, I tried another likely looking (it seemed to me) choice. To my horror and consternation, out came that tube again, sending forth another stream of water adding to the drips and puddles. By this point I was laughing uncontrollably at the ludicrous position in which I found myself. Once again, the water stopped, either because my frantic button pushing worked or an automatic stop took place.

I abandoned the rest room with water all over and still unflushed toilet and, through hysterical laughter, explained to Dong Won why I was in such a state, suggesting he tell restaurant staff that a clean-up crew with rag and mop was necessary. I also suggested that he encourage them, for that rare non-Korean speaking visitor, to install a large arrow with the word "flush" next to the appropriate button.

I came to Korea to immerse myself in the culture. I didn't, however, plan to leave a rest room awash. . . .