[sho_hn]

As a German married to a Korean, it was a definite upgrade to my Sauerkraut.

Jokes aside, the kimchi fridge is indeed quite common in Korea, and the household justification is typically that you don't want the kimchi's aroma to interact with all your other refrigerated food supply.

Especially the older generation makes kimchi infrequently in large batches, and it's very common to share the fruits of the labor among the different households in the family (you often leave with it on family visits), so it's routinely well stocked with the remains of various batches.

I'm most familiar with the single or double drawer types, integrated into the more modern kitchen aisles, making it easy to tower above and access the tubs/jars/containers. Since you usually wind up having one anyway, you're also gonna use it.