Why do Koreans love gambling so much?
The Spoon Theory (수저계급론)
The Korean version of “birth determines destiny”:
• Golden spoon = rich kids who are born into wealth
• Silver spoon = middle class
• Bronze spoon = ordinary wage earners
• Earthen spoon = the underclass—no matter how hard they try, it’s hard to climb out
Around 2015, it spread explosively among young people in South Korea. At its core, it was a collective resonance with social stratification becoming fixed. The price of an apartment in Seoul is equivalent to an income that would take ordinary wage earners 20–30 years of saving without eating or spending anything. Effort alone is no longer enough.
The N-drop generation (N포세대)
Evolving from the “three-drop generation (삼포세대)”:
• Three drops: give up dating, marriage, and having children
• Five drops: add giving up buying a home and relationships
• Seven drops, N drops: even dreams and health are abandoned; N stands for unlimited expansion
Relationship with stock-trading leverage
These two concepts explain why Korean retail investors are willing to borrow at 500% leverage to gamble in the stock market.
Those with earthen spoons can never afford a home with wages alone. Their only way out is to take a gamble in the market—if they lose, they remain earthen spoon; if they win, they can leap across classes.
The Spoon Theory (수저계급론)
The Korean version of “birth determines destiny”:
• Golden spoon = rich kids who are born into wealth
• Silver spoon = middle class
• Bronze spoon = ordinary wage earners
• Earthen spoon = the underclass—no matter how hard they try, it’s hard to climb out
Around 2015, it spread explosively among young people in South Korea. At its core, it was a collective resonance with social stratification becoming fixed. The price of an apartment in Seoul is equivalent to an income that would take ordinary wage earners 20–30 years of saving without eating or spending anything. Effort alone is no longer enough.
The N-drop generation (N포세대)
Evolving from the “three-drop generation (삼포세대)”:
• Three drops: give up dating, marriage, and having children
• Five drops: add giving up buying a home and relationships
• Seven drops, N drops: even dreams and health are abandoned; N stands for unlimited expansion
Relationship with stock-trading leverage
These two concepts explain why Korean retail investors are willing to borrow at 500% leverage to gamble in the stock market.
Those with earthen spoons can never afford a home with wages alone. Their only way out is to take a gamble in the market—if they lose, they remain earthen spoon; if they win, they can leap across classes.