<p>Public and commercial kitchens in Korea operate differently; however, there have been no systematic studies comparing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) concentrations in different types of cooking facilities. We compared compound concentrations between public and commercial kitchens in Korea through online monitoring of VOCs and analyzing the total VOCs (TVOCs), aldehydes, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) generated during cooking. Real-time monitoring was conducted in three public and three commercial kitchens. High peak occurrences were more frequent during cooking in commercial kitchens. An additional analysis of TVOCs and aldehydes conducted during cooking in four public and four commercial kitchens revealed that the average TVOCs concentration was 4.6 times higher in public kitchens. In contrast, concentrations of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde were 1.5 and 1.4 times higher in commercial kitchens, respectively. PAHs analysis detected 37 compounds were detected in both public and commercial kitchens. The total PAHs concentration was 1,162.6 ng/m³ in commercial and 326.8 ng/m³ in public kitchens. Concentrations of carcinogenic and priority management PAHs were elevated in commercial kitchens, with benzo[a]pyrene being 1.4 times higher in commercial kitchens than in public kitchens. Our results suggest a higher health risk in commercial than in public kitchens, emphasizing the need to identify and control pollutants generated during cooking.</p>