Hi everyone ! Long time lurker, rarely poster, but this has been bothering me for a few days. Apologies for any English mistakes, as it is not my first language.
Straight to it: me and my colleagues share an office fridge, and there have rarely been any issues up until recently. A coworker brought in, a few days ago, a bag of kimchi – it is not homemade, as it is stored in the bag it is sold in, one that my coworker has then closed with a little claw clip thingy. You know, those things they sell at IKEA? It will be relevant, as well, it is not hermetic at all.
Now, to preface: I have nothing against "cultural" foods (because this is what I’ve been getting in terms of criticism) and I absolutely love Korean food, kimchi included.
The issue is that that godforsaken kimchi bag has been in the fridge for about a week, and the fridge now reeks of kimchi –normally an issue I can deal with, except now the taste has started to "get into" other foods stored there, if you know what I mean? I have a couple kiwis in there, who now vaguely taste like kimchi. Same for my sandwiches, and my cold brew that I make ; worst of all, it’s gotten into the fancy butter that I like to keep there.
Hence, I put a post-it note on the fridge : "can the person who brought in the kimchi eat it / throw it / store it better, as it is now causing odor and taste problems for other items in the fridge. Thank you". I tried to be straightforward and neutral, describing a problem so it could be fixed.
I’ve now been accused of being culturally insensitive, disrespecting my coworker’s origins and making her feel bad/ put on the spot (she is Korean, but I never assumed she was the one who had brought the kimchi in and never targeted her directly). Again, I had truly no bad intentions behind it. A few years ago, we had a similar issue with a very stinky cheese (the office is in France), someone put up a similar post-it, and it was swiftly dealt with, no issues.
I think I am not the asshole, but some people in the office are saying I should apologize to her and that I was in the wrong.
NTA
However, over the last week could you not have found out who owns the kimchi and talk to them?
Most people are more receptive to a conversation that being called out with a note
Hi! I thought about it, but the office is very big. Something important to note is that we share a common cafeteria with other departments, and we rarely interact/ barely know each other.
I also thought that putting the note there would give the person privacy / would cause less drama. Also, frankly, I don’t have the time to go chasing people around asking if it was their bag.
NTA. Same thing happened in my work. Fortunately we had a Korean coworker that diffused the thing. She had no problem telling coworker to remove their kimchi. She was quite annoyed and described how normally there are special airtight containers used if not a completely separate refrigerator for kimchi.
No one has a right to stink up the fridge in the workplace.
As a Korean, can confirm. Most families have their own kimchi recipes and have their own fridge dedicated to storing kimchi because it is so pungent and the smell and flavor leak into everything. It’s like how you have to store peppermint separately or else everything tastes and smells like mint.
It’d be hilarious if someone brought in a separate mini fridge and labelled it as “the kimchi fridge” but that’d probably get seen as “culturally insensitive” when in reality it would be literally the exact opposite.
Edit: NTA
Many many years ago, I went on a tour of the Celestial Seasonings tea factory. The peppermint is stored in an entirely separate part of the factory than the rest of the rest of the teas, so as not to contaminate them.
NTA. A week? No, no, no. In fairness most places I’ve been the fridge is ruthlessly emptied every week anyway.
Well to be fair, I dont think it’s supposed to go bad, and I keep some “long-term” stuff there as well like cans of seltzers and the likes. The smell was the problem
Yep. This has been the way everywhere I have ever worked. A few places have had labels to put on things you want to leave in there (salad dressing, coffee creamer sort of things) but outside of that EVERYTHING got tossed.
NTA- your co workers are just jumping at the chance to virtue signal. To some people you’re not allowed to express any negativity towards someone with a different culture or some form of minority. Even though this is completely valid. If your co worker was white no one would be complaining about what you said, no matter what food item was in the fridge.
I guess that’s also why I put in the cheese example; no one really cared and it was handled. However, I’ve been told the coworker is now uncomfortable in the office and doesnt feel like she can bring in the food she likes. A thing to note is that it is not a very diverse office, and I do understand the “putting her on the spot” thing in that context.
I get how she might feel embarrassed but she brought in a food that was smelly and affected other people. She and your co workers need to have the maturity to realize that being a minority is not an excuse to cause others displeasure and not have any repercussions. I’d say ignore them and don’t feed into it. Your note wasn’t directed at any particular person and voiced a fair grievance. Your Korean co worker should have the considerate attitude enough to buy an airtight container or not bring in smelly food to a communal fridge. No matter the skin color she kinda deserves to feel a little shame so she corrects her behavior.
NTA
I have kimchi in my fridge, but it’s in a kimchi container to prevent this from happening. There is a reason that many households in Korea have either a kimchi fridge or kimchi drawers in their fridges.
NTA, honestly, this sounds way more like a shared-fridge etiquette issue than anything cultural. Strong-smelling foods leaking flavor into other people’s food is a real problem, regardless of what the food is. You didn’t call her out by name, didn’t insult the food, and even referenced a similar past situation. That said, I can see how a public post-it might’ve made her feel singled out. Probably one of those “you’re not wrong, but the approach could’ve been softer” situations. I don’t think you’re an asshole, but a quick apology for how it came across (not for the concern itself) might help smooth things over.
NTA. I also love kimchi, but I keep it in a jar with a tightly sealed lid. Leaving it in a bag and let the smell permeate throughout the fridge is highly inconsiderate.