More men in Korea sitting down when urinating

A newlywed man recently changed how he urinates at home. His wife scolded him for splashing pee out of the toilet and causing a bad odor, saying, "Top entertainers say they sit on the toilet to pee for the sake of their wives. Why don`t you try the same?"

The man told this story to his colleagues at work. He wanted support for having been forced to change his 30-year habit. His colleagues blasted the situation, with one saying, "This can`t happen. You need to control your wife before it`s too late. You`re bringing disgrace to men." The situation was soon reversed, however. A senior worker said, "My wife and daughter scolded me for the noise I was making when peeing. I changed the way I pee afterwards, and I`ve grown comfortable with it over the years." Others said similar stories.

More men are choosing to sit down rather than stand up when urinating at home. More mothers are educating their sons not to stand when peeing, and even certain kindergartens teach this. Standing while peeing makes urine splash out of the toilet, pollute surrounding toothbrushes, and cause a bad smell, making the clean-up a troublesome task. Sitting down to urinate can prevent this situation and reduce noise.

A civil servant who has been promoting a decade-long campaign for standing up when urinating has a business card that reads, "A man sitting down to pee." "I explained to people about the advantages of sitting down to pee, and half of them participated," he said.

Popular among women planning to get married and newlyweds is a pledge by a husband to sit while urinating. According to a Dong-A Ilbo survey of 500 single people conducted Monday and Tuesday via Sunwoo, a marriage consulting company, 230 men (46 percent) said they will sit down to urinate for their wife, while 85 (17 percent) were doing so. Sunwoo CEO Lee Woong-jin said, "This is men`s voluntary choice in consideration of their wives at home."

Many men also strongly opposed standing to urinate. An office worker said, "This is because wives disrespect their husbands. Pulling down one`s pants is very uncomfortable and I feel urine residue." The survey also showed that 40 percent of men are negative toward sitting to urinate. Urologist Lee Yoon-soo said, "Sitting down to pee tightens the sphincter urethrae, enabling residual urine to be effectively emitted. It`s better to sit down considering bathroom sanitation and women`s unpleasantness."

Men who sit to urinate are common in European countries, including Germany. A Korean woman living in Bayern said, "Mothers educate their sons to do this when they are young. Most German men think it natural to sit down to pee." In the U.S., however, the matter was controversial enough that a civic group was formed to oppose this.

Decision-making at home is shifting from that by the head of the household to negotiation among family members, which has also boosted this phenomenon.

Lee Na-yeong, a sociology professor at Chung-Ang University, said, "Women`s voices in private issues have risen. Convenience for women doing household work is being respected."