Why do Koreans love gambling so much

Spoon Theory (수저계급론)
The Korean version of “birth determines destiny”:
• Golden spoon = rich kids, born into wealth
• Silver spoon = middle class
• Copper spoon = ordinary salaried workers
• Earthen spoon = the bottom layer; no matter how hard they try, it’s hard to break through

Around 2015, it spread explosively among young people in South Korea. At its core, it’s a collective resonance over class entrenchment. Seoul house prices are the equivalent of what ordinary salaried workers would earn after 20–30 years of not eating and not spending; hard work is no longer enough.

The N-Pocalypse Generation (N포세대)
Evolved from “Three Withdrawals (삼포세대)”:
• Three Withdrawals: give up love, marriage, and having children
• Five Withdrawals: add giving up buying a home and social relationships
• Seven Withdrawals, N Withdrawals: give up even dreams and health; N means endlessly expanding

Relationship with stock trading leverage
These two concepts help explain why Korean retail investors are willing to borrow 500% to gamble in the stock market.
Earthen-spoon people can never afford a home with wages alone, so the only way out is to take a gamble in the market—if they lose, they stay earthen-spoon; if they win, they cross classes.