Baekje's "Toilet Culture" identified in Wanggung-ri Historic Site.

 How did the people of Baekje use toilets more than 1,300 years ago? Recently, the "backdoor culture" of the Baekje period has been gradually revealed, drawing attention. According to archaeological and folklore academia, Baekje people used semicircular "backwood" instead of paper at the time, and the excrement accumulated in the bathroom seems to have been treated by connecting it with a nearby waterway.  The ◇ Baekje people's disposal ◇ National Buyeo Cultural Heritage Research Institute began preserving and treating about 50 wooden rods that had been cherished last month. This semicircular rod, 25 to 30 centimeters long and 2 to 3 centimeters thick, is none other than a "back tree" used by Baekje people in the bathroom for toilet treatment instead of modern paper. It is a "precious" relic in Korea, where there is little research on ancient toilet culture. According to the Buyeo Cultural Heritage Research Institute, it is estimated that the people of Baekje crouched on a toilet made of wooden boards and watched "big news" and cleaned it up with backwood. And it seems that the back tree was washed with a water bottle left in the bathroom and recycled. Jeon Yong-ho, a curator at the Buyeo Cultural Heritage Research Institute, who participated in the excavation of Baekje toilet sites last year, said, "The back trees are so smooth that they will not be hurt," adding, "The back trees would have been inevitable to recycle."  When the amount of excrement accumulated in the bathroom exceeded a certain amount, the road was dug to flow out, and the road was connected to a nearby waterway. It was treated by diluting excrement in running water in the waterway. This is also confirmed by the research results of the Japanese archaeological community, where ancient toilet culture studies have been accumulated. In the ruins of Hongryogwan (the accommodation of foreign envoys such as Baekje), excavated in 1990, toilet remains and back trees were identified in the early 8th century. The ruins are similar to the recently excavated Baekje toilets in Korea. However, the back tree is not semicircular, but rectangular. Professor Kim Kwang-eon (Inha University), who wrote "The backyard of East Asia" (between folk gardens), said, "It is highly likely that the remains of the backyard of Hongnyeogwan were built by Baekje people," adding, "Japanese scholars also acknowledge that the culture of the backyard came from Baekje." ◇ Baekje Toilet Ruins = Buyeo Cultural Heritage Research Institute confirmed the toilets of the Baekje period in the excavation of the Iksan Wanggung-ri Relics (Historic Site No. 408), which was built during the 30th King Mu (600 to 641) of Baekje last year. Jeon Yong-ho, a curator, said, "In the beginning, it was estimated to be a storage warehouse or a simple waste pit. However, soil analysis in the pit confirmed parasites such as roundworms and polarites, and it is recognized as Baekje toilets." This toilet, which appeared as a square pit, is a total of three toilets. It is 3-10m long, 1.8-2.1m wide, and 1-1.4m deep. Inside the pit, wooden pillars were embedded at regular intervals along the four walls. In terms of columns, it is estimated that there was a wooden building divided into three to six compartments on the surface. Meanwhile, relics made of stone, which are believed to be toilets, were excavated at Bulguksa Temple in Gyeongju, and the toilet of the king (maehwa frame) of the Joseon Dynasty remained in Changdeokgung Palace in Seoul, indicating the toilet culture of the king at that time.