"A Monthly Income of 10 Million Won on Social Media, a Gangnam Home Is Fake" ... The Red Pill for K-Workers Trapped in Comparison Hell

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[Financial News] "What on earth did I do wrong with my life?" On a Friday evening, Mr. Kim, a department head in his 40s and 50s, and Mr. Lee, a worker in his 20s and 30s, each let out the same sigh from their own rooms as they lay down their tired bodies and turned on their smartphones.
The world inside Instagram and YouTube Shorts looks dazzling. A YouTuber in his 20s boasts of "monthly passive income of 10 million won after quitting my job," while a friend of the same age enjoys omakase at a Han River-view apartment in Gangnam District. It is a chilling sense of deprivation, as if my own life, spent quietly saving every paycheck and repaying loans, has been a complete failure. How did we end up trapped in this brutal "comparison hell"?
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The most frightening form of gaslighting in modern capitalism is the "fake average" created by "success porn." According to Statistics Korea's "Regional Employment Survey for the Second Half of 2023," more than half of wage workers in the Republic of Korea (ROK), or 54%, earn less than 3 million won a month on average.
But in the world inside a smartphone, 3 million won a month is reduced to the report card of a "loser." Social media algorithms endlessly expose only the extreme success stories of the top 1% or the flashy shells built on leverage. With real data thoroughly ignored, the sensational success peddlers shouting about "10 million won a month" and FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) have somehow turned into the "new average" that wears down the mental health of office workers in the ROK.
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Mr. Kim, 49, who works in sales, has never lived a lazy life. To cover the costs of his youngest child's English kindergarten, which is legally registered as a language institute but in practice replaces a regular preschool full time, as well as the principal and interest on his mortgage, he has devoted the past 20 years to the company.
But on weekend mornings, when he sees acquaintances' five-star hotel stays and imported car posts filling his social media feed, his once-solid pride collapses in an instant. Even after spending his youth for his family, the self-reproach of not being able to provide the kind of flashy experiences others enjoy weighs even more heavily on the burden of being the breadwinner.
He has fallen into the trap of comparing other people's "highlight reels" with his own "behind-the-scenes" life.
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The situation is no different for Mr. Lee, 29, from the marketing team. He has been steadily building capital by saving every month, but when he watches Hannam-dong vlogs of same-age "young and rich" influencers on screen, his own paycheck feels pitiful.
"At this rate, when will I ever buy a house in Gangnam District and drive a supercar?" His impatience pushes Mr. Lee toward extreme risk. The fantasy of taking a shortcut to wealth keeps tempting him. He keeps saying that becoming rich while old and sitting in a wheelchair is meaningless. Instead of boring investments that build a safety margin, he borrows money and throws himself into high-risk altcoins and meme stocks like a moth drawn to the flame, desperate to escape comparison hell right away.
The endless greed planted by success porn is pushing ordinary young people toward the cliff of get-rich-quick thinking. But Warren Buffett has repeatedly warned against this kind of reaction.
Buffett has delivered a sharp rebuke to this get-rich-quick mentality, saying, "Many people already know how to become rich. But their biggest problem is that they want to get rich quickly."
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Experts point out that much of the glamorous life seen on social media is either a sandcastle built on debt or a carefully staged performance designed to turn attention into money. There is no more foolish survival strategy under capitalism than emptying your wallet to chase the illusion of other people's gaze.
The greatest investment is not envying other people's flashy receipts, but protecting the paycheck you earned through sweat and tears, along with the ordinary life that may seem dull but is truly yours.
Step out of the manipulated paradise inside your smartphone and turn your eyes to the warm bowl of stew on the dinner table tonight and the people beside you. That ordinary yet extraordinary daily life is the only real asset that will protect you in the storm of capitalism.
jsi@fnnews.com Jeon Sang-il Reporter