science

Haewoojae

Haewoojae is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Haewoojae rather than just read about it. In short: Haewoojae (Korean: 해우재; Hanja: 解憂齋; lit. 'house of relieving anxiety'), also known as Mr. Toilet House, is a museum and cultural center dedicated to toilets located in Suwon, South Korea.

Key takeaways

Haewoojae belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Haewoojae to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Haewoojae from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Haewoojae (Korean: 해우재; Hanja: 解憂齋; lit. 'house of relieving anxiety'), also known as Mr. Toilet House, is a museum and cultural center dedicated to toilets located in Suwon, South Korea. It was built in 2007 as the residence of former mayor of Suwon Shim Jae-Deok. Shim was known for his campaigning to improve the quality of toilets in Suwon. After his death in 2009, the building reopened in 2010 as a cultural center and museum related to toilets. Haewoojae displays historical and modern toilets as well as exhibitions on toilets' role in culture, as well as ways to improve existing toilet systems.

History Construction on Haewoojae began in May 2007 in preparation of the inaugural meeting of the World Toilet Association. On November 11 the same year, the construction was completed. The building was initially used as a residence for Shim Jae-Deok, the former mayor of Suwon who worked to improve the quality of toilets in Suwon. The World Toilet Association stated that they were building Haewoojae ahead of the United Nations' declaration of 2008 as the international year of hygiene. During that time, the house was open to the public for rent for $50,000 US dollars a night. Shim died on January 14, 2009; his funeral was held at Haewoojae. In July 2009, his family donated Haewoojae to Suwon's government, which announced plans to renovate it and convert into a toilet-themed park for residents. On August 5, 2010, it was announced that Haewoojae's remodeling would be finished around late September the same year. On September 30, 2010, Haewoojae was reopened to the public, this time as a toilet-related cultural exhibition facility. Haewoojae would later on also open a toilet themed outdoors park outside of it in July 4, 2012.

Museum layout

There are four bathrooms, two above ground floors and a basement at Haewoojae. The combined area of the two floors is 420 square meters. Furthermore, there are specialized mirrors on the first floor bathroom of Haewoojae which can turn opaque on the first floor, and translucent bathroom walls on the second floor, and the toilets all have a speaker which plays music. The toilets in Haewoojae all employ water-saving systems which reduce water usage by around 70% compared to commercial toilets.

On the first floor of the museum, toilets and toilet-related objects starting from the 1950s to the present are exhibited, while the second floor contains information about how toilets play a role in culture as well as how to improve toilet systems. Furthermore, the museum contains toilets from historical eras of South Korea, particularly the Baekje and Silla eras. There are also depictions of people defecating and urinating throughout the museum. Surrounding the museum, there is an outdoors park containing historical examples of outhouses and pig toilets, as well as sculptures of people defecating.

See also Sulabh International Museum of Toilets Toilet History Museum

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Haewoojae

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Haewoojae claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Haewoojae before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Haewoojae ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Haewoojae

In research: Haewoojae appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Haewoojae in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Haewoojae is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2010 establishments in South Korea, Museums established in 2010, Museums in South Korea, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Haewoojae outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Haewoojae in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Haewoojae means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Haewoojae out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Haewoojae in simple terms?

Haewoojae (Korean: 해우재; Hanja: 解憂齋; lit. 'house of relieving anxiety'), also known as Mr. Toilet House, is a museum and cultural center dedicated to toilets located in Suwon, South Korea.

Why does Haewoojae matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Haewoojae?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Haewoojae.