South Korea's AI rally is reshaping romance, reality shows and academic preferences
South Korea's AI stock rally is rapidly transforming different corners of the country's society ranging all the way from romance to academics.
In Korea's dating scene, professionals such as physicians, lawyers and judges, have traditionally been the most sought-after. Now the preferences are changing, as the AI boom makes those working in the chip sector — flush with hefty bonuses — the new gems of the dating pool.
"Recently, we've seen increased preference for people working in semiconductor companies such as SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, as well as AI-related occupations," said a spokesperson for Korean matchmaking company Gayeon. Samsung and SK Hynix both joined the trillion-dollar club earlier this year, and their share prices have each surged around 95% and around 135% so far this year.
Big bonus payouts have given employees at the chip giants an edge. Last year, SK Hynix agreed to share 10% of its operating profit, which comes to roughly 700 million won per employee, or a little over half a million dollars, according to Reuters calculations. That is more than 15 times the average annual salary Koreans took home last year.
Under Samsung's wage deal, employees in the memory chip division will take home a little less than their peers at SK Hynix. The newfound stardom of workers at chip giants comes against the backdrop of Korean singles increasingly seeing marriage as a financial advantage.
Korean media has even started calling this "wedding leverage," the idea that pooling two incomes is the fastest way to afford a home deposit or build a meaningful investment portfolio. That being said, those in the chip sector looking for partners are getting increasingly picky, with finance not always among their top preferences.
"Our clients who work in semiconductor-related jobs are now also showing a tendency to look at a wider range of factors in a potential partner, not just occupation or finances," the Gayeon spokesperson said. Reality shows and academics The rise in popularity of the chip giants was the source of inspiration for a dating show on YouTube channel Teo.
The reality show matching Samsung and SK Hynix employees aired on Aug. 13, racking up around 650,000 views. "The content was intended to focus on the hectic daily lives of office workers, using dating, a relatable topic, to offer familiarity and fun," a spokesperson for Teo said. "The timing also aligned well with the two companies' boom driven by AI, which helped resonate with a broader audience."
Netflix released a variety show last month titled "Rookie Kim's Stock Market Mission," documenting a popular comedian's trading journey. The program starts with the comedian buying a few shares in SK Hynix, resonating with Korean retail investors — a group that accounts for one in four of the population. The AI fervor is even impacting high-level education, an important rite of passage in Korean society.
At Seoul National University — the so-called Harvard of Korea — electrical and computer engineering has surged in popularity, as the major is closely associated with AI-related jobs. Nine in 10 undeclared-major students at the College of Engineering chose to study electrical and computer engineering this year, compared to just two in 10 in 2023, according to data from the university.
"Korean students aren't simply chasing 'AI' as an abstract theme — they're chasing a specific, visible, domestic pipeline into hardware divisions like Samsung's and SK Hynix's," Lim said. These jobs offer "clearer and more immediate rewards" of having a stable, regular positions at large companies than just another career, she said.