After going 'all in' with study-abroad funds, rental deposits and wedding savings, 20- and 30-somethings tighten their belts as stocks fall

[Financial News] As volatility in South Korea's stock market grows, the accounts of young people in their 20s and 30s who invested large sums in stocks are being left deep in the red. They aggressively increased their investments during the bull market, but as losses have mounted recently, they are cutting living expenses and even putting life plans on hold.
The Korea Exchange said on the 12th that the KOSPI and KOSDAQ closed at 5,342.73 and 696.53, respectively. Those levels were 41.4% and 43.2% below their year-to-date closing highs of 9,114.55 on June 22 and 1,226.18 on April 27, respectively.
The young people interviewed by this newspaper said they had expected the rally to continue through the end of the year, but that their unrealized losses grew as they waited for their investments to recover after stock prices fell.
Last May and June, Kim invested 15 million won in semiconductor stocks, including Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, as well as leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The money was for living expenses abroad, saved from cafe work and tutoring, but its current value is only in the 7-million-won range. “With the whole world caught up in the artificial intelligence (AI) boom, I was confident in the value of semiconductor stocks,” Kim said. “When they first fell, I thought it was just a brief correction. After that, I held on thinking I would sell once I got my money back, but my losses only grew.”
Kim added, “I have to pay rent and cover food costs every month while I'm there, and I don't know how long I can get by on the money I have left. I don't think I'll be able to live normally, so I'm considering rescheduling my exchange program.”
Jang, a 25-year-old university student nearing graduation, also invested a 10-million-won rental deposit and 2 million won in savings in stocks after moving out of the studio apartment they had been living in in early this past July for the summer break and staying at their family home. They planned to grow the money before finding a new room, but its value fell to 7.5 million won. In the end, they sold some of their shares and moved into a semi-basement apartment with a 5-million-won deposit, far from campus.
Instead of enrolling in an academy to prepare for the police officer exam, Jang said, “I'm doing short-term part-time work. I used to live near campus so I could focus on finding a job, but now I have to work out how much I can spend this month first. I also quit guitar lessons and my climbing group.”
Park, a 30-year-old office worker who joined the beauty industry last year, invested 50 million won in wedding funds, but their value fell to the 20-million-won range. “When I looked into quotes for the wedding venue and honeymoon, I was burdened by the higher-than-expected costs and hoped investment returns would give me some breathing room,” Park said. “I can't cut my rent or student loan payments right away, so I've been taking public transit instead of driving and canceled my subscriptions to over-the-top (OTT) streaming services and YouTube Premium.”
Park added, “I'm talking with my partner about whether to cut the budget or postpone the date, because I don't know if we can make up the shortfall by the time we plan to get married. My partner's stock account is in even worse shape.”
According to the Korea Consumer Agency, this past September the average contract amount for wedding venues and the studio, dress and makeup package was 34.01 million won in Seoul's Gangnam District and 31.71 million won outside Gangnam. The total exceeded 30 million won even without the cost of a newlywed home or honeymoon.
Choi, a 33-year-old startup employee preparing to buy a small apartment in Seoul, invested 100 million won, putting 20 million won from a personal loan on top of 80 million won in savings, mainly in Hyundai Motor Company and robotics stocks. The current value of the investment has shrunk by around 40%.
Choi has put off buying a home, is staying in a monthly rental and is saving for a home again. To save on food, Choi eats simple meals at home and has also sold a cherished motorcycle and massage machine secondhand. Choi has switched additional investments to buying small amounts of U.S. ETFs each month.
“I firmly believed stocks would be a ladder to owning my own home, but I feel betrayed,” Choi said. “With home prices in Seoul rising so rapidly, I feel at a loss.”
[email protected] Park Sung-hyun Reporter