"I Buy Stocks With My Part-Time Job Earnings"—Seven in 10 University Students Are Already Investing

[Financial News] A survey has found that roughly seven out of 10 university students invest in stocks, virtual assets, or other products.
According to Newsis on the 9th, Binnolab Insights surveyed 500 university students nationwide through the university-life platform Everytime from July 23 to August 5. The results showed that 68.0% of respondents said they were "currently investing."
The most common time for respondents to begin investing was during their early university years, at 66.8%. This was followed by their high school years at 20.4%, their later university years at 8.0%, and before middle school at 4.8%.
Domestic stocks were the most widely held investment product, cited by 77.6% of respondents in a multiple-response question. Overseas stocks followed at 63.2%, while bonds, funds, and individual savings accounts (ISAs) accounted for 21.8% and virtual assets for 15.3%.
In terms of investment size, small-scale investors with 3 million won or less accounted for 50.4%, exceeding half of the respondents. Those investing 3.01 million to 10 million won accounted for 24.1%, while 25.6% invested 10.01 million won or more.
The largest share, 43.5%, said they funded their investments with earned income from part-time jobs and other work. Personal allowances followed at 22.4%, savings and installment savings at 18.8%, family support at 10.6%, and scholarships at 3.5%.
When asked about their investment approach, 70.6% chose long-term holding, far outpacing the 29.4% who said they preferred short-term trading.
More than half, or 53.8%, described themselves as conservative investors. Risk-neutral investors accounted for 36.8%, while aggressive investors made up just 9.4%.
A total of 38.4% said they experienced Fear of Missing Out (FOMO)—anxiety that they might be left behind by other people’s investment gains or market trends.
The securities app most commonly used by stock investors was Toss Securities, with a usage rate of 50.5%. It was followed by KIWOOM Securities at 10.7%, and Samsung Securities and Kakao Pay Securities at 6.7% each.
A Binnolab Insights representative said, "Rather than taking on high risks, Generation Z tends to start investing easily and hold investments for the long term." The representative added, "When choosing a securities app, the initial user experience and ease of use also play important roles."
[email protected] Su-yeon Kim Reporter