"Did You Apply Hand Cream? Please Leave"... What Happened at a Famous Yangyang Cafe

Cafe Owner: "Cannot Tolerate Anything That Interferes With the Aroma of Coffee"

Controversy has arisen after a customer reported being asked to leave a cafe in Yangyang, Gangwon Province, simply for applying hand cream. The owner explained that "hand cream interferes with the aroma of coffee," but experts criticized the action as "excessive."

On January 7, during JTBC's "Incident Chief," a housewife in her 40s, identified as Ms. A, shared that she recently visited a famous cafe in Yangyang with her husband, only to experience a bewildering incident. She had heard about the popular cafe latte spot in Yangyang and drove for nearly three hours to get there.

Hand cream stock photo. Getty Images Bank

After placing her order and sitting down, Ms. A applied a small amount of hand cream from her bag due to the static electricity caused by the dry weather. While looking around the cafe, she noticed a small sign on one of the tables that read, "Please refrain from using perfume or hand cream."

"Don't Disturb Our Coffee Aroma"... Asked to Leave Over Hand Cream Use

The issue arose immediately afterward. The cafe owner approached and asked if she had used hand cream, then offered to refund her coffee, effectively asking her to leave. Ms. A explained that she had only noticed the sign too late, but the owner firmly insisted, "I cannot tolerate anything that interferes with the aroma of coffee." When Ms. A protested, saying, "Then you should write that customers must leave if they use hand cream," the owner replied, "You keep saying unreasonable things," and again requested that she leave.

Ms. A commented, "I understand that a cafe may value its aroma and atmosphere," but added, "The sign was barely visible, and I only used a tiny amount of hand cream. I wonder if it is reasonable for a cafe to expel a customer for this reason."

Experts: "Not a Reasonable Action" and "Questionable Link Between Coffee and Hand Cream"

In response, psychology professor Park Sanghee stated on the broadcast, "No matter how much philosophy and pride one has in coffee, the basic principle should be customer-centeredness. It is not reasonable to ask a customer who traveled a long distance to leave just for applying hand cream." Attorney Park Jihoon also commented, "I question how direct the connection is between coffee and hand cream. The sign was simply a request to refrain, not a mandate for immediate expulsion."

Netizens who heard about the incident also reacted, saying, "The owner is being overly sensitive," "If they only sell coffee and no desserts, maybe," "With that level of sensitivity, they should screen out customers who use fabric softener," "Foreigners often use a lot of perfume-imagine the chaos," "How could someone like that work in the service industry?" "They should at least provide unscented hand cream," "The warning should have been given at the entrance," and "Even if it's the owner's prerogative, this is too much."