World's second best airport wins award for most beautiful restroom

A restroom with runway views at Incheon International Airport has won the Presidential Award, the top prize at South Korea's 28th Beautiful Restroom Awards.

The restroom sits near Gate 225 in the duty-free area of Terminal 2, where floor-to-ceiling windows look out on planes taking off and landing, The Korea Herald reported.

The facility also includes restrooms for people with disabilities, family restrooms and amenities for infants and toddlers, part of a universal design meant to let anyone use it conveniently, The Kyunghyang Shinmun reported.

"Restrooms are not simply sanitary facilities; they are a key touchpoint where airport users directly perceive cleanliness and service levels," said Bae Young-min, head of infrastructure at Incheon International Airport Corporation.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Korea Restroom Culture Association run the competition, which judges restrooms on cleanliness, convenience, safety, design and maintenance.

The restroom near Gate 225 in Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport, with windows looking out on the airfield. Photo courtesy of Incheon International Airport Corporation

This year's edition drew entries from 74 local governments and organizations, the Herald said. Winners were honored on Nov. 3 at the Seoul Museum of History in Seoul's Jongno District.

BEXCO, the convention center in Busan, took the gold prize, Incheon Today reported. Geomam Station on Incheon Subway Line 2 won silver with a restroom that uses behavior-analysis AI to detect users who collapse or act abnormally, so staff can respond quickly.

Two stations run by state rail operator Korail also won, Financial News reported. Sagok Station in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, also took silver with a partly solar-powered restroom whose entrance walls are finished in cork.

Jinbu Station in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province, took bronze with a gallery-style restroom that displays artworks.

Korail took last year's top prize too, for a restroom on the west side of Seoul Station's second floor whose curved waiting area helps reduce crowding.

Incheon ranked second, behind Singapore's Changi, among the world's best airports in Skytrax's 2026 World Airport Awards, and fourth for its washrooms.