Koreans wash hands for just 14 seconds after using restroom, only half use soap: survey
Only about half of Korean adults wash their hands with soap after using the restroom, a survey showed, while the average time spent washing hands fell far short of the recommended 30 seconds. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on Thursday announced the findings of its survey on infection prevention practices for the first half of 2026, conducted jointly with the National…
A recent survey conducted by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) and the National Medical Center reveals concerning hygiene practices among Korean adults. The study, which surveyed 4,560 individuals across 120 public restrooms nationwide from May to June 2026, found that only half of the participants washed their hands with soap after using the restroom. Furthermore, the average time spent washing hands was significantly less than the recommended 30 seconds.
The survey revealed a modest improvement in hand-washing behavior, with the proportion of people who washed their hands after using the restroom increasing by 1.9 percentage points to 86 percent, up from 84.1 percent the previous year. Similarly, the percentage of people who washed their hands with soap rose by 1.7 percentage points to 46.7 percent, compared to 46 percent last year. However, a concerning 14 percent of participants did not wash their hands at all after using the restroom.
Moreover, the average duration of hand-washing was found to be far below the recommended 30 seconds. The study also noted that 39.3 percent of participants washed their hands with water only, bypassing the use of soap entirely.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
