'Anywhere Elites' vs the 'Somewhere Majority'

Their investment behavior reflects a struggle for autonomy and survival within a society that offers fewer avenues for upward mobility. Their bodies remain in Korea, but their search for a viable future leads them to more dynamic global markets.

Jaung Hoon

The author is an emeritus professor at Chung-Ang University and a columnist at the JoongAng Ilbo.

The relationship between Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong and young retail investors did not begin on uneasy terms. Rhee was once admired across online economic communities, where he was nicknamed “Chang Dragon.” His briefings on domestic and global economic trends were widely shared, and his insights — grounded in long experience and deep expertise — stood in stark contrast to the bureaucratic tone common in official statements.

Jobseekers review employment information at the “My Job, 2025 KB Good Job Daejeon Job Festival,” co-hosted by the Ministry of Employment and Labor, KB Kookmin Bank and the Daejeon city government, at the Daejeon Convention Center on Nov. 19 amid a prolonged youth employment slump. [NEWS1]

The mood shifted this spring after Rhee commented on Korea’s university admissions system, drawing criticism from younger Koreans. Relations deteriorated further last month when he pointed to concentrated overseas stock purchases by young investors as one of the forces weakening the won. Despite record export performance, the won-dollar rate has hovered near 1,500 won, prompting debate over underlying causes. When Rhee highlighted youth overseas investment as a contributing factor, admiration quickly turned to resentment. Online commentary accused him of blaming retail investors while overlooking loose fiscal management and aggressive overseas investment by major exporters.

Citizens receive consultations on unemployment benefits at the Seoul Western Employment and Welfare Plus Center in Mapo District on Nov. 12. According to October employment data released the same day by the Ministry of Data and Statistics, the number of employed people increased by 193,000 from a year earlier, yet the employment rate among young adults continued to fall for the eighteenth consecutive month and the number of people in their 30s classified as “not in the labor force” reached 334,000, the highest since records began. [NEWS1]

Parsing the many domestic and global variables that shape the exchange rate is a task for economists. What stands out in this dispute is how it reflects a broader social divide: the tension between Anywhere elites and the Somewhere majority, terms drawn from David Goodhart’s “The Road to Somewhere” (2017). Rhee, an economist whose path spans Seoul National University, Harvard University, the IMF and now the central bank, is a clear example of an Anywhere elite — someone whose credentials and networks allow him to thrive in many parts of the world.

By contrast, most young Korean retail investors represent the Somewhere majority. Lacking the mobility and global opportunities of elites, they invest in U.S. markets with money earned at home, seeking a measure of independence and security. The divide between the highly credentialed yet often socially detached Anywhere class and the rooted, economically pressured Somewhere majority remains wide.

Three structural forces help explain the surge of young Koreans into U.S. equities.

First is the crisis of labor and the widening gap between labor income and asset income. Scholars from Thomas Piketty onward have shown that returns on capital tend to outpace economic growth rates over time. For young Koreans, this is not theory but lived reality. Securing a stable job is difficult, yet even stable wages rarely keep pace with soaring housing prices. As a result, even undergraduates, between classes and exam preparation, look for opportunities in U.S. stocks. Conversations about Tesla, Nvidia or biotech shares are no longer unusual on campuses. A few shares purchased with saved part-time earnings represent their struggle to survive in an economy where capital income increasingly outweighs labor.

Second, the move toward dollar-denominated assets reflects pessimism about Korea’s long-term prospects. Economic growth is stuck in the 1 percent range, and the population is aging at unprecedented speed. The number of workers who generate income is falling, while the number of retirees the country must support is rising. The children of Anywhere elites can study or work abroad. The Somewhere majority cannot. For them, accumulating U.S. assets is a practical hedge against uncertainty in Korea’s future.

Third, young people are naturally drawn to innovation and transformation. Their enthusiasm for U.S. companies — from autonomous driving and space exploration to quantum computing and biotechnology — is partly driven by volatility, but more fundamentally by a desire to participate in world-changing innovation. Such opportunities feel distant in Korea’s more rigid economic environment.

Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chairman Chey Tae-won, right, and Bank of Korea Gov. Rhee Chang-yong step down from the stage after a special dialogue held during the “AI-Based Growth and Innovation” seminar co-hosted by the Bank of Korea and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in central Seoul on Dec. 5. [YONHAP]

None of this means that young investors are free from risk. Some behave more like speculators than long-term investors, and their concentration in particular sectors exposes them to significant volatility. But at its core, their investment behavior reflects a struggle for autonomy and survival within a society that offers fewer avenues for upward mobility. Their bodies remain in Korea, but their search for a viable future leads them to more dynamic global markets.

The point is not that Anywhere elites should lower themselves to listen. Rather, they should give young people space. Do not pity them or lecture them. Do not attempt to regulate or guide their choices unnecessarily. Simply acknowledge their decisions. For many in the Somewhere majority, these decisions represent their only available path toward agency in an uncertain world.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.