'Can't I cook in my own home?' Food odor complaint divides Korean apartment residents

A request for apartment residents to be mindful of strong evening cooking odors has sparked an online debate in Korea over neighborly tolerance in shared housing. The dispute began after a notice posted in an apartment elevator was shared on Threads on Tuesday. The writer said smells from cheonggukjang and grilled meat were entering the home around 8 p.m. and making it hard to ventilate. Online reactions split between complaints about cooking freedoms and calls for consideration of neighbors.

The notice said strong cooking odors were entering the home in the evening and causing significant discomfort in daily life.

The writer said the problem was especially severe around 8 p.m. and mentioned cheonggukjang and grilled meat as examples.

Some commenters argued that residents should be able to cook cheonggukjang or grill meat in their own kitchens, while others said persistent food odors can create genuine discomfort.

Published Sep 18, 2026 2:23 pm KST

An image generated by ChatGPT

A request asking apartment residents to be mindful of strong cooking odors in the evening has sparked an online debate in Korea over how far neighbors should accommodate one another in shared housing.

The controversy began after a photo of a notice posted inside an apartment elevator was shared on the social media platform Threads on Tuesday.

"I would like to cautiously ask for everyone’s consideration," the writer said. "Recently, strong cooking odors have been entering our home during the evening, causing significant discomfort in our daily lives."

The writer said the problem was particularly severe around 8 p.m., when smells from foods such as cheonggukjang — a pungent fermented soybean stew — and grilled meat entered the home through the balcony and windows.

"The odors are so strong that it is difficult even to leave the windows open to ventilate the living room and bedrooms," the writer said, asking neighbors to "pay a little more attention to ventilation and odor control when cooking."

An apartment notice shared on Threads on Tuesday asks residents to be mindful of cooking odors in the evening, saying they are causing "significant discomfort" to neighbors. Captured from Threads

But one resident who saw the notice pushed back in a post on Threads.

"Are we now living in an age when you get complaints for cooking cheonggukjang in an apartment in the evening?" the resident said. "I understand that the smell can be unpleasant for some people, but we still have to cook and eat."

Online reactions were similarly divided.

"Is it really a home if I can't even cook cheonggukjang or grill meat in my own kitchen?" one commenter said.

Another said the complaint went too far because the issue involved neither noise between apartments nor cigarette smoke, suggesting that those bothered by cooking smells close their windows and use an air purifier instead.

Others, however, said persistent food odors from neighboring units can cause genuine discomfort.

"Unless you've experienced having the smell of stews and cheonggukjang enter your home every day and having to rush to close the windows, you don't know what it's like," one commenter said.

The dispute reflects a familiar tension in Korea's densely populated apartment complexes, where residents live in close proximity and sounds, smells and other aspects of everyday life can easily spill into neighboring homes.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, was translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.

韩国一则公寓住户需注意夜间烹饪气味的告示，引发了一场关于合租公寓邻里互助的线上辩论。这场争议源于周二在Threads论坛上分享的一则贴在公寓电梯里的告示。告示中写道，晚上8点左右，清麴酱和烤肉的气味会飘进屋内，导致通风困难。网友对此反应不一，一方抱怨住户的烹饪自由受到侵犯，另一方则呼吁住户体谅邻居。

通知称，晚上强烈的烹饪气味会进入家中，给日常生活造成极大的不适。

作者表示，晚上 8 点左右这个问题尤其严重，并以清麵酱和烤肉为例进行了说明。

一些评论者认为，居民应该能够在自己的厨房里烹制清麴酱或烤肉，而另一些人则表示，持续的食物气味会造成真正的不适。

发布于2026年9月18日下午2:23（韩国标准时间）

由 ChatGPT 生成的图像

韩国一项要求公寓居民在晚上注意烹饪气味的请求，引发了网上关于合租房屋中邻里之间应该保持多大距离的辩论。

这场争议始于周二，当时一张张贴在公寓电梯内的告示照片在社交媒体平台 Threads 上分享。

“我想谨慎地请求大家的关注，”作者说，“最近，晚上经常有浓重的烹饪气味飘进我们家，严重影响了我们的日常生活。”

作者表示，晚上 8 点左右这个问题尤其严重，清麴酱（一种气味浓烈的发酵大豆炖菜）和烤肉等食物的气味会通过阳台和窗户进入屋内。

“气味太浓烈了，甚至很难打开窗户给客厅和卧室通风，”作者说，并请求邻居们“在做饭时多注意通风和气味控制”。

周二，Threads 上分享的一则公寓通知提醒住户注意晚间烹饪产生的油烟，称这些油烟会给邻居造成“严重困扰”。（摘自 Threads）

但一位看到该通知的居民在 Threads 上发帖反驳了这一观点。

“现在连晚上在公寓里煮清麴酱都会被投诉吗？”这位居民说道，“我知道有些人可能不喜欢这种味道，但我们还是得做饭吃饭啊。”

网络舆论也同样呈现两极分化。

一位网友评论道：“如果我连在自己的厨房里做清麵酱或烤肉都做不到，那还能算是家吗？”

另一位居民表示，该投诉太过分了，因为这个问题既不涉及公寓之间的噪音，也不涉及香烟烟雾，并建议那些受烹饪气味困扰的人应该关上窗户，改用空气净化器。

然而，也有人表示，邻近单元持续散发的食物气味会造成真正的不适。

一位评论者说：“除非你亲身经历过每天都有炖菜和清麴酱的味道飘进家里，不得不赶紧关上窗户，否则你根本不知道那是什么感觉。”

这场争端反映了韩国人口密集的公寓楼中常见的紧张局势，居民们居住得非常近，日常生活中的声音、气味和其他方面很容易蔓延到邻居家中。

本文来自《韩国日报》（《韩国时报》的姊妹报），由人工智能生成系统翻译，并由《韩国时报》编辑。