The "Korea Discount" is Ending: Why Smart Money is Buying KOSPI Now
2026 Emerging Market Watch The "Korea Discount" is Ending: Why Smart Money is Buying KOSPI Now While the S&P 500 feels expensive, South Korea offers the world's best AI hardware plays at bargain prices. Executive Summary The "Value-Up" Catalyst: Following Japan's playbook, Korea is aggressively boosting shareholder returns (dividends & buybacks). AI Hardware Monopoly: Korea controls the HBM (High Bandwidth Memory) market, essential for Nvidia's GPUs. Historic Undervaluation: Trading at a P/B ratio below 1.0x—cheaper than emerging markets peers. 1. Valuation Gap: The Opportunity The S&P 500 is trading at historic highs. Meanwhile, the Korean market (KOSPI) is trading below its book value. This means you are buying top-tier global companies for less than the value of their liquidation assets....