Do you know? In South Korea, the birthplace of the center of the universe, from the elite of powerful and high-ranking officials to elementary school students who are still watching cartoons, they are crazy about stock trading!
So how did this pickle country, known as the "first power in the universe", become a stock account with 8 million more than the total population of the country?
In the 60s of the last century, Japan, which was actively expanding its market, transferred a large number of labor-intensive industries to South Korea and provided South Korea with a large number of dollar loans. Later, because the Koreans also sent troops to help the Americans fight the Vietnam War, they also received a lot of assistance from the Americans and the industrialization technology that Korea urgently needed. After having capital, technology, and labor, South Korea's economy soared, known as the "miracle of the Han River".
South Korea sent 300,000 troops to help the U.S. military fight the Vietnam War
But behind the miracle, the dark side of the South Korean economy is also fermenting.
A booming economy has created a bunch of wealth myths. And these myths of wealth, after monopolizing Korean social resources, became the now well-known and notorious Korean chaebols.
In South Korea ruled by chaebols, the upward path for ordinary people is getting narrower and narrower. If young Koreans want to make a difference, they must either become government servants or work for chaebols in large companies.
But in the highly competitive Korean peninsula, there are very few young people who can achieve these goals.
A young Korean who entered Samsung for an internship
As a result, the social atmosphere of speculation and gambling quickly spread in South Korea. The stock market with high risk and return has become the first choice for Koreans to get rich.
With the frenzied influx of Koreans into the stock market, more than 80% of the Korean stock market is Korean retail investors. At the same time, the number of active accounts in the South Korean stock market reached 60 million, while the total population of South Korea was only 50 million. It can be said that South Korea is almost a national stock speculation and speculation.
This also includes a large number of minors.
In March this year, at Samsung's shareholder meeting in Seoul, a total of 1,600 shareholders were present, including several elementary school students.
Elementary school student shareholders attending Samsung's shareholders' meeting
In addition to investing in the stock market, Koreans also love all kinds of high-risk investments.
For example, before, a virtual currency called Luna Coin was popular in South Korea, which was very popular among speculators in South Korea. Luna Coin was once hyped by Koreans for $120 But in less than a month, Luna Coin plummeted by 99%, and more than 200,000 Koreans lost their money overnight. Many South Koreans, who suffered heavy losses, chose to jump off the Han River Bridge and ended their lives.
Luna Coin founder Kwon Do-hyung, wanted by the South Korean police
And this year, in the face of the Fed's aggressive interest rate hikes, the hot money in the South Korean stock market is desperately fleeing. This has made South Korea face a dangerous situation of three killings of stocks, debts and foreign exchanges. If the South Korean government fails to bail out the market, the wealth of South Koreans will definitely be looted.
The Mapo Bridge across the Han River is a "holy place" for suicides in South Korea
I think that when the time comes, Koreans who want to jump off the Han River Bridge will have to queue up.