Korea's first on-campus unisex toilet installed at Sungkonghoe University

A gender-neutral toilet at the University of California, Calif. / Reuters-Yonhap

A gender-neutral toilet that can be used by anyone regardless of sex or disability has been installed at a Seoul university for the first time among domestic schools.

Sungkonghoe University said Wednesday it has completed the construction of the unisex toilet on the first basement floor of a lecture building called the New Millennium Hall.

The toilet, named "Everyone's Toilet," is equipped with various convenience facilities, such as voice assistance, automatic doors, Braille blocks, angle mirrors, toilet covers for babies, diaper changing tables, small washbasins and folding chairs, the university said.

Due to the absence of gender distinction, sexual minorities who have different gender identities after birth can also use the unisex toilet without any inconvenience, it added.

Unisex toilets are becoming increasingly common in Western countries but are unfamiliar in Korean society due to concerns about vulnerability to crime.

According to Sungkonghoe University officials, the installation of a unisex toilet was first proposed by a student council in May last year and the school headquarters initially reacted cautiously due to objections raised by from some students. After months of protests by both sides and open discussions, the school finally reached a decision to build the gender-neutral toilet last November.

"The use of the toilet is the most basic and essential element in human life, but some people regard the existing toilets as inconvenient," a school official said. (Yonhap)

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