Chapter 181: Koreans Are Serious
Salarymen could never forget the fall and winter of 2017, when the crypto frenzy was at its peak.
“Ugh, if only I’d bought Bitcoin back then.”
“If I’d cashed out my retirement fund midway and gone all-in on coins, I could’ve quit my job and bought a building in Gangnam.”
“It was a chance to become a billionaire...”
Office workers commuting on subways and metropolitan buses in Gyeonggi Province from early morning.
They carried resignation letters in their hearts, but with car loans, credit card bills, mortgage payments, and kids’ tuition to think about, they couldn’t bring themselves to submit them.
They lived on with lingering regrets over the get-rich-quick dream from 3 or 4 years ago.
They thought life’s big opportunity would never come again.
“Apparently Kim Shin made a killing with put options in the US.”
“Yeah?”
“He’s already Korea’s richest man.”
“I heard he’s starting a business...”
“Isn’t doing business on top of that a bit too greedy?”
“Who knows. A guy that rich has nothing to worry about even if it flops.”
In 2020, whenever office workers gathered for drinks, the talk turned to Kim Shin.
They watched through the media as he achieved massive success in both investing and business.
“Jealous...”
“I should’ve bought something at the end of 2017.”
“Life’s all about scraping by penny by penny. I need that one big score.”
They heard stories of quick-moving Western market retail investors raking in fortunes by following Kim Shin’s advice.
Their returns were astonishing too.
“I heard Jeong-sik took out a credit card loan, invested, and made 20 times his money.”
“20 times?”
“They say Nasdaq’s been nothing but up. Total straight-line growth.”
For a year, they diligently gathered info on the stock market.
The regrets from 2017 turned into dreams and hopes.
“Me too, just once...”
“Opportunities come. HODL!”
“If I miss the next one, I’ll regret it till I’m old.”
Even while working, they checked their phones for Earth Channel.
They constantly scanned for new videos or SNS posts from Kim Shin.
Of course, they searched for Kim Shin news articles every day. And finally, the articles dropped.
〈Kim Shin Bets on New York Stock Decline〉
〈Put Options and Short Selling Investments Estimated at Over $140 Billion〉
〈Wall Street Rumor: Kim Shin and Investor A the Same Person?〉
Nasdaq, Dow, S&P 500.
The articles said that while New York indices were hitting all-time highs, Kim Shin had bet on a downturn.
And with astronomical sums, no less.
“Manager, I’ll step out for some fieldwork.”
“How long?”
“3 or 4 hours.”
“Go ahead.”
Office workers left their companies and rushed to brokerages.
They’d saved up pocket money over the past year and taken out loans via apps from banks or card companies.
“How do I invest in put options on the New York market?”
Questions to brokerage counter staff.
The staff warned it was a high-risk trade that could lead to principal loss.
“Have you invested in stocks before?”
“First time.”
“Not even buying US stocks, but put options?”
“Yes, I’ve researched it thoroughly, so just open an account.”
On the day Kim Shin’s investment articles broke, tens of thousands flocked to brokerages.
It was the busiest the counters had been since the early to mid-2000s.
Counter staff warned against the blind frenzy to copy Kim Shin.
“Sir, we don’t recommend extreme bets that can wipe out your principal if stocks don’t fall.”
“Look, 15 years ago, I bought into infrastructure and Vietnam funds here at Asia Securities on your recommendation.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And the next year, my principal got halved?”
“......”
“How can I trust stock experts? Might as well trust Brother Kim Shin.”
The brokerage staff felt humiliated processing papers for the 40-something man.
To be honest, they could empathize to some extent.
In the Korean stock market, no one—from brokerages and analysts to fund managers and counter staff—was free of scams.
The stocks they recommended and the funds they managed rarely delivered proper returns; brokerages were far better at recruiting clients than at managing their money.
The recent branch mergers were due to domestic brokerages’ lack of capability.
Office workers invested anywhere from hundreds of thousands of won to hundreds of millions via home loans.
Western market retail investor communities lit up too.
―Finally, Brother Kim Shin has raised the flag of advance.
―We waited long enough. Patiently till the indices hit highs.
―Time to make money. Let’s goooo!
―Short selling and puts? Isn’t that risky?
―No regrets if I lose. Just betting where odds are highest.
―When you can’t trust yourself, trust Brother Kim Shin. That’s the investment lesson.
Western retail investors who’d tasted profits last year had just been waiting for Kim Shin to move.
While he succeeded in business, they waited for his stock market return.
Once the articles hit and his trades confirmed, they jumped in.
―Let’s gooooo!
―Please, please. Crash the stocks hard.
―Even if the sky falls, trust Brother Kim Shin and your account goes green.
The retail investors’ pooled funds exceeded $50 billion.
〈Rush of Office Workers into US Stocks〉
〈US Stock Investments Spike Exchange Rates〉
〈Western Ants’ $6 Trillion Bet on Nasdaq Plunge a Risky Gamble〉
Korea’s finance sector and government were stunned, but it all happened in just 2-3 days, too fast for countermeasures.
And...
〈New York Stocks Plunge〉
Those who trusted Kim Shin and invested started making a killing.
―Sweet, so sweet.
―Went all-in 300 million on secret apartment collateral, divorce be damned. Already up 100 million. Best husband material, right?
―Sold my Sonata to invest. Now it’s a Genesis. lololol
Victory reports flooded the Western retail communities.
* * *
Omicron’s emergence.
New York stocks tanked on news of the highly transmissible COVID variant.
―Ellie: New York’s a mess. Every dealer’s screaming sell.
Short selling, put options.
They hadn’t expected this plunge right after betting on declines.
The $10 billion, $20 billion daily profits were huge, of course.
Relative value, but Korean companies’ market caps were starting to feel insignificant.
“$10 billion is basically LK Electronics level.”
Even Mirae Motors, not just LK Electronics, now seemed small to me.
The emergence of Omicron sent my returns soaring.
Selling the stocks and options instantly converted my holdings into 220 billion dollars in cash.
My assets, which had stalled at around 140 billion dollars, ballooned in short order.
―Ellie: Know how ridiculous Wall Street’s reaction is right now?
―Kim Shin: What?
―Ellie: They’re taking your investments and profits as a given.
She was referring to my trades.
My enormous short positions and put options had made headlines, and even leading fund managers had acknowledged them.
Wall Street seemed to believe that only Kim Shin would dare make a contrarian bet while the market was at an all-time high.
Once the profits materialized, they simply nodded and said, “As expected of Kim Shin.”
I had not expected New York’s financial professionals to acknowledge me so readily.
―Ellie: But they’re shocked by Korean funds, saying it’s unimaginable.
―Kim Shin: What happened?
―Ellie: Your followers.
Korean funds managing more than 50 billion dollars in assets were aggressively buying put options on Tesla and other giants.
That was not large compared with the daily flow of the New York market, but it was the first time investors from a single country had committed so heavily to a high-risk, high-reward strategy.
―Ellie: The managers here are shocked. They keep asking whether Korea is not supposed to be conservative.
―Kim Shin: They don’t know Korea.
Korea was often criticized as a “Confucian Taliban” in social, cultural, and policy matters.
Casinos were scarce, broadcast-decency rules were strict, and conservative social norms dominated.
Tourists who visited for only a few days rarely saw its true face.
How Koreans go wild for coins, surging stocks, themes.
Crazy serious about real estate speculation too.
* * *
COVID terror sweeping the world since last year.
With Omicron emerging, I headed to Biolife in Gwangmyeong.
“Come on in. We airlifted Omicron urgently from South Africa and we’re analyzing it.”
An Myeong-guk, Biolife VP, guided from the lobby.
Security thoroughly checked at the building.
“You already got Omicron?”
“Yeah, flew it in. Info from South Africa says transmissibility 6x Delta.”
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
If transmissibility that high, forget stock drops—factories and shops would shutter.
“Need deeper analysis, but locals say symptoms much milder than Delta.”
“Then that’s good.”
“They say viruses get milder as transmissibility rises. Delta with strong symptoms was unusual.”
Biolife steadily researched COVID.
After the vaccine was developed, reducing the investment made financial sense, but they respected Dr. Lee Ho-yeon’s work.
Biolife had launched the vaccine and made money from it, but Dr. Lee Ho-yeon had also saved millions of people around the world. The work had brought honor and pride as well as profit.
“Think of it as insurance.”
Biolife planned to invest profits freely in medical advances.
Quietly toured labs without disrupting Omicron analysis or vaccine dev, then left.
“Let me know when results are out.”
“I’ll call within a minute of analysis.”
Market would crash a bit longer, but knowing Omicron could help investing.
That day, a text from the US.
―Elon: Friend, doing well?
Tesla CEO Elon Musk.
With massive Tesla shorts and EV market entry, I’d figured relations might sour.
―Kim Shin: Yes, doing well.
―Elon: Saw the news. Made a ton this time, congrats.
―Kim Shin: Thanks.
I felt slightly tense during the exchange.
I had to be cautious about what I wrote.
―Elon: Haha, friend has a dishonest side too. Was Tesla’s business that tempting?
―Kim Shin: Pardon?
―Elon: I’ve got your intentions figured perfectly.
Elon knew not just Tesla shorts, but Korean battery and parts firm ties.
―Elon: That qualifies you as major Tesla shareholder.
―Elon: Tesla will ramp production by 18 million more vehicles over next 9 years.
―Elon: That massive US factory you’re building? For Tesla, right?
But critical misunderstanding.
Tesla as market leader, others far behind as rivals.
All my prep must be for Tesla partnership.
―Elon: $50 billion’s not bad. Come to the US, hit me up. Once ready, let’s talk deal.