'What am I supposed to do about roasted sweet potato smell at 10 p.m.?' Apartment notice stirs debate

A notice posted in an apartment complex asking neighbors to manage cooking odors — citing the smell of fermented soybean paste stew in the evening and roasted sweet potatoes late at night — has gone viral online.

On Saturday, a photo of the notice, posted on an apartment bulletin board, spread across online communities and social media alongside the caption: "Are we really in an era where you get complaints for making fermented soybean paste stew in the evening?"

The resident who wrote the printed notice opened with a polite appeal, saying they wanted to raise the matter "carefully."

"Recently, strong cooking smells have been coming into my home during the evening hours, causing significant disruption to my daily life," the resident said. "Particularly around 8 p.m., smells from fermented soybean paste stew, grilling meat and other strong foods drift in through the balcony and windows, making it nearly impossible to open them for ventilation in the living room and bedroom."

The notice continued: "I don't mind you enjoying roasted sweet potatoes, but what am I supposed to do about the smell still coming in at 10 p.m.?"

"Of course everyone has the right to enjoy delicious food," the resident said, "but since this is an apartment complex where we all live together, I would be grateful if everyone could pay a little more attention to ventilation and odor management while cooking."

The notice concluded: "I hope we can all be a little more considerate of each other so that everyone can live comfortably."

The person who shared the photo online said they understood that the smell could be unpleasant for whoever was on the receiving end, but added: "People still have to cook and eat, don't they?"

Most commenters sided with the cooking neighbors. "Isn't 8 p.m. dinnertime?" one wrote. Others chimed in: "If you can't make fermented soybean paste stew, grill meat or eat sweet potatoes, is it even a home?" "Now people are filing complaints over food smells?" "If you hate cooking smells, live in a detached house." "This is nitpicking over nothing."

A few commenters, however, expressed sympathy for the notice's author. "You don't know what it's like to frantically shut your windows until you've been through it yourself," one wrote.