South Korean students, under “Da Ou Yin,” invested in the stock market, but their returns still trailed the broader market by 45%! The presentation of investment targets is de-Koreanized.

South Korea’s younger generation is sparking an unprecedented wave of retail stock-market investing enthusiasm. According to a report by Korea’s Central Daily News, more and more college students are choosing to put “All in” their funds into the stock market beyond their living expenses. Some even allocate as much as eight to nine tenths of their asset allocation to the investment market, reflecting the intense anxiety and desire among young people to flip their fortunes amid high home prices and economic pressure.

The report notes that on March 18 this year, a stockbroker campus tour lecture held at Hongik University in Seoul attracted about 300 students who packed into the classroom. When the speaker asked, “Are you investing in stocks?”, about half of the students in the room raised their hands. In addition, these new-generation investors’ targets also show a clear trend of “de-Koreanizing” their stock holdings. About 65% of students said they mainly invest in overseas stocks, especially U.S. stocks, citing reasons such as lower volatility and higher expected returns. By contrast, they lack confidence in Korea’s domestic stock market.

“Not investing means you’ll become poor” South Korean students euro-into-stock-market outside living expenses

The report says some students keep only about 1 million won in cash per month, putting all other funds into the stock market. They even add more when the market falls, treating a stock-market crash as a “discount opportunity.” For example, when geopolitical tensions in the Middle East hit the market and the KOSPI dropped sharply, some students chose to add aggressively across the board, betting on a rebound in the future.

Behind these investment decisions is structural economic pressure. Most of the interviewed students said that even if they save money through long-term work, it is still difficult to buy a home in the Seoul capital area. Combined with lending restrictions and soaring asset prices, stocks have become one of the few tools that seem capable of delivering a financial leap. One student said bluntly, “If you don’t invest in stocks, you’ll end up becoming poor.” Others believe that since they cannot accumulate assets to buy a home, at least they should prepare retirement funds for the future through investing.

Data show that college students’ returns are far below age 40, and even can’t keep up with the broader market

However, some students suffer major losses because they use leveraged instruments—for example, losing 45% after investing in a 2x inverse ETF—forcing them to exit by stopping losses. Another student admitted that during the period of losses, they even keep checking stock prices during class, showing that investing has created pressure and interference in everyday life.

From the data, young people’s actual investment performance is not ideal. Securities firm analysis shows that during the period from January to February 2026, the return rates for investors in their 20s and 30s were only 1.37% and 2.11%, respectively, far lower than those of groups aged 40 and above. They also clearly lag behind the roughly 45% gain of the KOSPI over the same period, indicating that young investors failed to effectively track market performance.

Young investors show “de-Koreanization” in investing, reflecting insufficient confidence in Korea’s stock market

In addition, these new-generation investors’ targets also show a clear trend of “de-Koreanizing” their stock holdings. About 65% of students said they mainly invest in overseas stocks, especially U.S. stocks, citing reasons such as lower volatility and higher expected returns. By contrast, they lack confidence in Korea’s domestic stock market.

In terms of information sources, young investors are more inclined to rely on social media and online communities rather than traditional broker reports. The survey shows that “investment groups and online communities” are the largest source of information. Next are YouTube, SNS, and blogs, and the proportion of people using AI tools to obtain investment information is also gradually increasing. By comparison, the share of those who read securities research reports is only about 8%.

Experts say this investment boom has gradually evolved into a generational culture. Scholars’ analysis suggests that because young people have limited capital, they tend to concentrate funds on a single target rather than diversify risk. Combined with the anxiety that “if you don’t invest, you’ll fall behind,” market behavior becomes even more extreme. Especially in a high-volatility environment, leveraged investing can lead to the risk of forced liquidation, so extra vigilance is required.

This article South Korean students go all-in on the stock market, but returns lag the broader market by 45%! Investment targets show de-Koreanization of stocks. First appeared on Chain News ABMedia.