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This blog is about investing in US stocks while living in Korea, earning and spending in won. If you are new here, these are the posts to read first, roughly in this order. The newest posts are on the home page.
1. Buying US stocks from a Korean account
How the trade works in practice: when you can place it, and what it costs beyond the fund fee.
- Trading US Markets from Seoul: How Koreans Stopped Staying Up
US hours fall in the Korean night. How brokers moved part of the trading into our daytime. - What It Actually Costs to Buy VOO from Korea
The expense ratio is the smallest cost. The FX spread and the commission are bigger. - Same Index, Different Tax Bill: Two Ways to Buy the S&P 500 from Korea
A Korea-listed S&P 500 ETF and the US-listed one follow the same index under different tax rules.
2. Tax
The Korean tax side of holding US stocks. Rules change, often yearly, so check the date on each post.
- US Dividend Withholding: What Actually Lands in a Korean Account
What arrives in the account after US withholding, and why there is usually nothing to file. - I Missed the Filing Deadline for Korean Capital Gains Tax. Here's What I Learned Doing It Myself
Filing the capital gains tax on foreign stocks by hand, after missing the broker’s window. - Korea's Tax Shelters Assume You Trade. I Don't.
Why Korean tax-advantaged accounts fit trading better than buy-and-hold.
3. The currency
For a won-based investor, every US return comes with an exchange rate attached. These posts are about single days, but the pattern in them keeps coming back.
- The Double Loss Didn't Happen Today. That's the Part Worth Watching.
Why a stronger dollar usually softens a bad US day in won terms. - Tech Fell, the Won Firmed, and the Cushion Never Came
A day the usual currency cushion did not show up. - When Currency Trumps Stocks: The Won Moved More Than the Market
A day the exchange rate moved more than the market.
Nothing here is personal advice. See the disclaimer.