EWY: The Bubble Faded, But Korea Still Needs New Buyers

Summary The Korean Stock Market (KOSPI) experienced extreme volatility, with a 90% rally from last year's bottom followed by sharp corrections. Despite turbulent price swings, corporate earnings remain resilient, memory cycle strength persists, and governance reforms are accelerating. Visible deleveraging has occurred in leveraged ETFs, but retail risk appetite is migrating to structured products like autocallable ETFs. I maintain a 'Hold' rating on the Korean Stock Exchange, citing persistent volatility and evolving retail risk exposures. Getty Images The Bubble Died. The Earnings Didn't The Korean Stock Market as proxied by the iShares MSCI South Korea ETF ( EWY ) has certainly made 2026 a year to remember. The KOSPI rose by over 90% from its bottom last This article was written by Agar Capital 5.65K Followers Follow I’m a Portfolio manager (flexible equity funds and private clients), fundamental equity research, macro and geopolitical strategy.Over 10 years across global markets, managing multi-asset strategies and equity portfolios at a European asset manager.I combine top-down macro, bottom-up stock selection and real-time positioning (Bloomberg, models, data).I focus on earnings, tech disruption, policy shifts and capital flows — to identify mispriced opportunities before the market.On Seeking Alpha I share high-conviction ideas, contrarian views and deep breakdowns of both growth and value names.For more insights: follow me on X @AgarCapital Analyst’s Disclosure: I/we have no stock, option or similar derivative position in any of the companies mentioned, and no plans to initiate any such positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. Seeking Alpha's Disclosure: Past performance is no guarantee of future results. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. Any views or opinions expressed above may not reflect those of Seeking Alpha as a whole. Seeking Alpha is not a licensed securities dealer, broker or US investment adviser or investment bank. Our analysts are third party authors that include both professional investors and individual investors who may not be licensed or certified by any institute or regulatory body.