Eager to save at least 100 million won ahead of her 30s, Park decided to get a job at a major business. In fact, she has so far saved around 200 million won. The real issue, besides investing in stocks and funds, is where to park the number.
“Since I was a teenager, I have always dreamed of becoming rich. In my standard, having 10 billion won ($8.43 million) worth of assets could be considered rich. But, this goal is almost impossible to reach on an annual salary,” Park Jee-hye, a 33-year-old, said.
100 million won is big. The longtime dream of getting rich, she admitted, seems to be slipping through her fingers.
How much money does one need to really be considered wealthy?
Although “rich” is a relative term, a recent survey shows that South Koreans find a individual wealthy on average when they’ve earned 4.65 billion in assets.
According to the joint survey by online recruiting service providers JobKorea and Albamon of 2,020 adults between their 20s and 40s, male and female respondents said that the threshold for being considered “wealthy” was 5.23 billion won and 4.26 billion won, respectively.
About 85 percent of respondents described themselves as working class, poor or impoverished.
Meanwhile, 11.3 percent said they belonged to the middle class. Also, the respondents cited their low salary as the No. 1 obstacle to their golden dream. Only 1.1 percent said they were wealthy.
Diversifying Investment Portfolios
Faced with stringent restrictions on the real estate markets and sustained low interest rates, an growing number of people have switched to capital markets in Asia’s fourth-largest economy.
As local retail investors flocked in search of high returns, according to data from the Korea Financial Investment Association, the balance of credit loans taken out by individuals for stock investments reached nearly 16.03 trillion won as of Wednesday.
The expert also urged for patience and caution in the volatile coronavirus-affected stock markets.
“A rash investment decision may sometimes bring some profits but is likely to involve unwanted (opposite) outcomes,” the expert said.
“The answer is to keep patience. Take your time and look at the big picture.”
Writer: Irly Nurvitasari
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