“The most common things I’ve been hearing from these people lately are, ‘Turns out you can’t make money from stock trading’ and ‘Why does it always drop right after I buy?’” Mr. Kim from Korea told Zhiwei.
South Korea's stock market experienced a dramatic rollercoaster over the just-concluded summer.
The situation originated from an epic rally in the semiconductor industry, during which Hynix's stock price surged consecutively, followed by Samsung Electronics, causing the entire Korean stock market index, KOSPI, to continuously set new all-time highs.
In the Chinese internet world, the "Korean girl" meme has also become popular, giving rise to the much-envied "golden age of Korean investors."
But soon, the sequence of plunging to circuit breakers followed by violent rallies kept alternating.
In the midst of this volatility, Zhiwei reached out to Director Park from Samsung Electronics’ DS Division (semiconductor business) and Director Kim, owner of a South Korean medical aesthetics clinic, to understand how the mindset of South Koreans had shifted during this historic market movement.
"People on the streets of Seoul suddenly stopped, embraced each other, and cheered in celebration." To be honest, I actually laughed when I read this. Such a description is almost impossible in Korean society—I think it’s overly dramatic and doesn’t align with Korean personality or social culture. Koreans aren’t really a society that publicly shares how much money they’ve made. Director Kim felt that the nostalgic essays from the golden age were somewhat exaggerated, even though his own stock investments had once tripled in value.
If I were to say what has truly changed in Korean society, I think it’s more of an emotional shift. When the stock market rises, those holding stocks tend to feel more optimistic and positive overall, though they usually don’t openly express it. In most cases, investment is only casually discussed among a few friends and rarely becomes a topic of widespread social conversation. Especially among today’s younger generation in Korea (the MZ generation), many people won’t even bring up their personal lives with their superiors at work, let alone openly discuss their investment returns.
Regarding why Korean retail investors seem to be acting wildly in the stock market, Director Kim believes that social media and news have played a significant role in driving this behavior.
As people constantly see news about others making large profits and the stock market continuing to rise, and occasionally hear from those around them about successful investments, many naturally begin to think, “Shouldn’t I also start investing?” Thus, South Koreans’ recent enthusiasm for the stock market is genuine. However, I believe this is more accurately reflected in increased account openings and sustained capital inflows into the market, rather than the widespread collective euphoria and celebratory embraces depicted in sensational articles. There is a significant difference between the two.
Director Kim noted that when the market declines, overall social sentiment does tend to dip slightly. However, this shift remains relatively restrained, as Koreans generally do not openly display their anxiety, losses, or stress.
The disparity between rare examples showcased on social media and everyday reality is not limited to the stock market.
From the widely circulated claim that "Hynix employee ID cards have become a hard currency in the marriage market" to the news that "Samsung employees' union has launched a strike demanding higher wages and better benefits," these widely spread reports often do not reflect the actual situation of ordinary company employees.
Mr. Park from Samsung Electronics' DS department explained to Zhiwei, "First, the union does not represent all employees. In general, within Korean corporate culture, benefits often prioritize a small number of union members, so not all employees necessarily support labor negotiations. This is because sharing the majority of the company's profits with employees does not necessarily guarantee the company's growth."
Yes, you read that right—South Korea’s “unions” are not what netizens in the Chinese-speaking world imagine them to be. Often, union members in South Korea represent a kind of “privileged minority” rather than the broader working class, functioning more like special interest groups. In South Korean public discourse, this phenomenon is critically referred to as “aristocratic unions” (귀족노조).
In addition, there has been no overall wage growth so far. Moreover, the salary competition between SK and Samsung is essentially limited to core employees, such as researchers or management, and has not generally extended to regular staff. I’m less familiar with Hynix’s situation, but Samsung has not yet conducted annual salary negotiations this year, nor have employees received bonuses, so there’s little tangible impact.
Although the current semiconductor upcycle from 2024 to 2026 is widely referred to as an "AI-driven structural recovery," Mr. Park believes that the Korean semiconductor industry has consistently maintained a growth trajectory, so a period of growth is not generally seen as a significant change.
He told us that the company is indeed growing its performance, but this merely means an increase in the number of employees, not splitting two people’s salaries among one person. As a result, apart from gradual improvements in benefits and wage increases, there has been little other meaningful impact—so aside from the stock price, few discuss anything else, and everyone simply focuses on their own responsibilities.
According to Director Kim, overall, for a long time, the life trajectories of ordinary Korean office workers have been quite similar.
Many people gradually save their salaries and then use bank loans to purchase homes. As housing prices continue to rise, the value of their property increases, naturally building up their assets and preparing them for retirement.
This lifestyle was once very common in Korea.
This pattern has emerged because the Korean real estate market has long maintained an upward trend, and housing loans are relatively easy to obtain.
Therefore, for a considerable period of time, real estate has been regarded as the most important investment method for Koreans.
In comparison, the stock market is not as popular as real estate.
Only in recent years has this situation begun to change. As the South Korean government has continuously strengthened regulation of the real estate market, increased tax burdens on owners of multiple properties, and tightened real estate transaction policies, the market has gradually cooled down.
Meanwhile, the South Korean government has continuously introduced policies to support the development of the capital market, aiming to attract more capital to remain in the Korean stock market and even encourage some funds previously invested in overseas stocks to return to the Korean market.
Against this backdrop, starting around 2025, the Korean stock market entered a period of significant growth.
An increasing number of South Koreans are beginning to view stock investment as one of the important opportunities for ordinary people to change their financial situation—and even their social class.
This idea has been further amplified by the constant emergence of various "wealth myths" online.
Director Kim noted that many investors, in pursuit of higher returns, have invested in popular stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix through margin loans or leveraged products.
What surprised me is that the cases mentioned in the news actually happened right around me—one of my friends was exactly like that. He always felt his salary couldn’t keep up with rising prices and was constantly seeking a “quick wealth” opportunity. So, he took out a loan to invest in leveraged products, hoping to rapidly amplify his returns. However, after this market correction, he lost nearly all of his capital. Recently, many of my friends have noticeably cut back on spending. During the bull market, they frequently treated friends to meals, bought more expensive goods, and some even bought new cars. Now, some have sold their cars, while others have started bringing their own lunches to work, trying to minimize daily expenses.
I think he wasn’t truly passionate about investing to begin with—he was mainly driven by anxiety after seeing the Korean stock market surge rapidly, fearing that “if I don’t get in now, I’ll be the only one left behind.” Under the influence of this emotion, he kept increasing his investments, ultimately taking on risks far beyond what he could afford.
A few days after Director Kim completed his consultation with KnowRisk, the Korean stock market experienced another circuit breaker, followed by a series of repeated circuit breakers, leaving the streets outside the National Assembly filled with wreaths laid by protesting investors.
Starting at the end of July, I noticed a significant increase in reactions from people around me, especially my uncle, who even called me specifically to ask what he should do—his stocks, which had previously generated substantial profits, had now turned into losses,” Director Kim said, noting that many people around him were losing their composure. Some were even unable to eat due to the stress, particularly those who had invested using loans or leverage.
“The most common things I’ve heard from these people lately are, ‘Sure enough, you can’t make money trading stocks’ and ‘Why does it always drop right after I buy?’” he said.
Although Director Jin is also experiencing a significant drawdown in returns, he believes this is a necessary process for a mature stock market.
In fact, for many Korean investors, the KOSPI surpassing 3,000 points over the past extended period has seemed almost miraculous.
Why say that? Because many Koreans have long believed that Korean companies have not received market valuations commensurate with their actual strength.
Many leading U.S. semiconductor companies are valued by the market at P/E ratios of hundreds of times, causing their market capitalizations to reach new highs.
Meanwhile, some South Korean semiconductor companies, despite having revenues even higher than those of certain U.S. firms, have long maintained price-to-earnings ratios of only around ten times.
In addition to being undervalued, the Korean market previously had another issue: due to the large number of small- and mid-cap stocks, certain individual stocks were frequently subject to market speculation, even leading to phenomena known as “manipulated stocks.” Many people felt that Korean stocks lacked investment value, as many were driven by speculative capital, causing truly outstanding companies to fail to receive appropriate valuations.
Director Kim stated that this perspective has existed in Korea for many years. However, in recent years, as the real estate market has cooled and related policies in the capital market have been continuously advanced, an increasing amount of capital previously tied up in real estate has begun flowing into the stock market.
Overseas funds have also begun to take notice of the Korean market, further accelerating the overall market rally.
As more people with little to no prior investment experience enter the stock market due to its sustained upward trend, risks are gradually accumulating.
A portion of overseas capital and institutional investors with significant profits have gradually exited, and the market has begun to enter an adjustment phase.
Many individual retail investors, due to limited capital and the use of loans or leverage, cannot withstand the pressure of sustained price declines.
In the end, some could only cut their losses and exit, while others faced forced liquidation. Chasing gains and selling losses—turn off the lights and have a bowl of noodles.
“These various factors mentioned above are key reasons behind the recent sharp market correction. Nevertheless, I remain optimistic about the future of the Korean stock market. I am still continuing to buy in tranches, as I believe many outstanding companies—such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix, as well as numerous other strong firms in both Korea and the U.S.—still offer significant long-term investment value. I also hope more Chinese friends will come to better understand Korea,” said Director Kim.
In fact, when viewed comprehensively, the changes brought by South Korea’s recent semiconductor wave are no different in essence from those in our country; it’s just that, due to cultural misunderstandings, many people have added imagined, dreamlike filters to these events.
After all, people always think others are happier than they are.
This article is from the WeChat public account "Zhi Wei," authored by Hebi and edited by Dabing.