Hi, I’m Sanghyun(Shawn) Lee — a Korean investor sharing the view from the inside
Welcome. This site exists to do something surprisingly rare: explain Korea — its economy, its stock market, and its money culture — to the rest of the world, written by someone who actually lives it every day. I’m not a journalist reporting from the outside or an analyst reading off a terminal. I’m a Korean professional, investor, and father of three, sharing real experience in plain English.
If you’ve ever wondered how Koreans think about money, why so many of us invest in US stocks, or what the headlines about Samsung and the KOSPI really mean on the ground, you’re in the right place.
About Me
I spent roughly 18 years working as a project manager, including time at Samsung Heavy Industries — one of the giants of Korea’s world-class shipbuilding industry — as well as experience at a multinational (German) company. Those years shaped how I think more than any single skill did. A project manager lives and dies by setting clear milestones and hitting them steadily, and that same discipline is how I approach investing, writing, and life: define the goal, break it into steps, and execute consistently.
Right now, I’m doing something many Korean men are still quietly discouraged from doing — I’m on parental leave to be present for my kids. But I’m also treating this season as a deliberate experiment in financial freedom: building income streams, studying markets seriously for the first time without a 9-to-6 schedule, and documenting the whole journey honestly, including the parts that are uncomfortable or culturally taboo here.
So I write from a specific, lived vantage point: a Korean dad, a former big-corporate and foreign-company employee, and a hands-on investor in both Korean and US markets.
About This Site – Ground Truth Korea.com
This site is built for non-Koreans who are curious about Korea — expats, investors, travelers, and anyone who wants to understand the country beyond K-pop and tourist guides.
My mission is to share:
- Korea, explained from the inside — the economy, the culture, and the social forces (like our low birth rate, real-estate obsession, and attitudes toward work and risk) that outsiders rarely get in plain terms.
- The Korean stock market — what’s really driving the KOSPI, how local investors behave, and why the index can soar while most people don’t feel richer.
- Investing in US stocks from Korea — my single most distinctive angle. I invest the majority of my capital in US equities while living in Korea, and I share the strategy, the tax realities, the currency-hedging logic, and the honest trade-offs of doing this from the other side of the world.
In short: I translate Korea’s economy and my own investing journey into something a global reader can actually use.
Why You Can Trust What You Read Here
I take honesty seriously, so let me be direct about what I am and what I’m not.
- Experience over theory. Everything here is grounded in things I’ve actually done — accounts I’ve built, taxes I’ve paid, decisions I’ve lived with — not recycled talking points.
- Transparency. I share real milestones and real reasoning, including mistakes and uncomfortable cultural truths.
- No false authority. I am not a licensed financial advisor, broker, or tax professional. Nothing on this site is financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. I share my personal experience and opinions to inform and spark your own thinking — never to tell you what to do with your money. All investing carries risk, and you should always do your own research and consult a qualified professional before making decisions.
That combination — real experience, full transparency, and clear limits — is exactly the trust I’d want from any site I read about money.
Let’s Connect
I genuinely enjoy hearing from readers, whether you have a question about Korea, a different perspective, or just want to say hello.
📧 [sh616.lee@gmail.com] 🌐 [https://groundtruthkorea.com/]
Thanks for being here — and welcome to the view from the inside.