Reasons why young people in the country are enthusiastic about trading cryptocurrencies
The protagonist of the film, Liang Daoxian, is a young man who has failed multiple startups. In the environment of 'trading stocks during the day and cryptocurrencies at night' in South Korea, he sees a 'business opportunity' in the cryptocurrency field. He raises hundreds of millions of KRW with friends to start a cryptocurrency company, and the issued altcoin MOMMY achieves great success due to luck and market opportunities, triggering a nationwide frenzy over MOMMY tokens. Liang Daoxian thus becomes a new figure in the cryptocurrency field.
Why are young people in South Korea so keen on trading cryptocurrencies, even rushing to join the cryptocurrency community one after another? Because in the face of skyrocketing housing prices and living costs, many believe that there is no hope in work, and trading cryptocurrencies seems to be the only way out.
Seoul, which occupies only 0.6% of South Korea's land area, houses nearly 20% of the population, with exorbitant housing prices. From 2017 to 2020, the average transaction price of each house rose from 606 million KRW to 957 million KRW, a 56% increase. In contrast, the general wages in South Korea are meager, and the employment situation is severe. Chaebols like Samsung, LG, and Hyundai account for 80% of the country's GDP but only provide 5% of jobs. Small businesses, while accommodating 88% of the employed population, offer outdated work skills, low pay, and instability, making them the reluctant choice for young people.
Furthermore, large enterprises in South Korea favor graduates from prestigious universities. Data from 2000 shows that students from high-income families at Seoul National University are 16.8 times those from low-income families. The 'spoon theory' is prevalent in South Korea; after 2000, an average of 42% of wealth in South Korea comes from inheritance. Young people's space for struggle is limited. In a social survey in 2019, 88.6% of young respondents firmly believed that their parents' wealth and status determine their children's future, making upward mobility nearly hopeless. The emergence of virtual currencies seems like a last resort for them; it appears that only by seizing this opportunity can they possibly buy a house that they could never afford even after decades of work and live a decent life.
Current cryptocurrency boom in South Korea
According to reports, by December 2024, the number of cryptocurrency investors in South Korea has surpassed 15 million for the first time, with the average daily trading volume of the five major local exchanges approaching 15 trillion KRW, comparable to the stock market. After the U.S. presidential election, the number of cryptocurrency investors in South Korea has exploded, with over 30% of the population (approximately 51.23 million) investing in cryptocurrencies. This data was collected by the Bank of Korea based on the (Virtual Asset User Protection Act) that took effect last July. As of November, the number of domestic cryptocurrency investors in South Korea was 15.59 million, an increase of 610,000 since the end of October. The total amount of cryptocurrencies held by domestic investors reached 102.6 trillion KRW, with the average amount held per person surging to 6.58 million KRW. The scale of funds not invested in cryptocurrencies but held in exchanges reached 8.8 trillion KRW. In November, the average daily trading volume of domestic cryptocurrency exchanges reached 14.9 trillion KRW, equivalent to the total scale of the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets in the same month.
Under the strong operation of the chaebols in South Korea, (CryptoMan) is about to debut. At that time, not only in South Korea but also globally, the cryptocurrency community will frequently see the presence of #MOMMY. Before and after the film's release, a fierce price competition around MOMMY is likely to ignite, with everyone frantically gambling, as if in a carnival. All of this raises deep thoughts: Is it purely artistic creation, or is it a carefully planned layout by capital behind the scenes? Perhaps the answer will only become clear when the film officially premieres. But it is undeniable that the turmoil caused by MOMMY in the cryptocurrency community will attract countless eyes and become the focus. (The End) #MOMMY