“It takes saving every penny of your salary for 30 years to buy a 30-pyeong APT. in Seoul. Even that, it's almost impossible to buy an APT. in Gangnam or Seocho.”
As the instructor finished speaking, the atmosphere in the auditorium suddenly quieted. Students who had been checking their smartphones or whispering to friends next to them stopped what they were doing and focused their attention on the speaker. The harsh realities that new college students, who are often filled with romantic notions of campus life, must face after graduation started to unfold. The students, seemingly shocked, straightened their backs and began to concentrate on the lecture.
On the 17th, a financial lecture was held at Kyunghee University in Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul, for over 130 new students from the school's self-directed major department. The Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) has hosted annual lectures since 2012 under the theme “financial stories every college student should know” to enhance young people’s basic financial knowledge. This lecture is conducted either through a meeting with professors affiliated with the FSS or by screening educational videos produced by the FSS during freshman orientation, timed with the start of the new semester in March. This year, lectures will be held at 44 universities nationwide.
Professor Min Jae-ki from the FSS, who visited Kyunghee University as a lecturer, emphasized several times the importance of investing in finance. He showed the price trends of APT. sales in Seoul and noted, “It is virtually impossible to buy a home in Seoul and prepare for retirement solely on a salary.” He warned, “Moreover, the value of money can only continue to decline,” stating, “If you just save money, you will end up losing.” He continued, “To live healthily until your expected lifespan of 130 years, you need to develop the habit of making your savings generate more revenue,” and added, “You should start cultivating that habit now, as you begin to take on part-time jobs.”
As the explanation about the necessity of understanding finance came to an end, the students' focus naturally increased. Professor Min then continued with explanations of value investing, long-term investing, and index-following investing as methods of stock investment. During the explanation of value investing, a discussion unfolded between Professor Min and the students about how Starbucks and McDonald's generate profits through their business models and how to identify good investment timings.
Reflecting current trends, the discussion about artificial intelligence (AI) sparked even greater interest among the students. One student raised their hand and said, “I use AI for my assignments; I wish AI could also help with investing.” Professor Min shared, “A service called a robo-advisor, which helps decide investment strategies, has already been released, and the revenue is quite decent,” introducing the changing landscape of financial investment.
Students encountered on-site unanimously said the special lecture was beneficial. Choi Ga-eun, 19, who came from Nam-gu in Ulsan, remarked, “I had little interest in investing until now, but after hearing today’s lecture, I think I need to learn about investing during my college life.” Current students who attended the lecture alongside the new students also reacted positively. Min Chae-rin, 23, a third-year student at Kyunghee University, commented, “As college students have just become adults, I hope practical finance will be taught as an essential liberal arts subject in college.”
Meanwhile, the FSS plans to continue collaborating with universities to provide various financial education opportunities. An FSS official stated, “We will keep expanding educational opportunities to ensure systematic financial education begins for college students as they embark on their economic activities.”