How AI-fueled wealth is reshaping South Korea

AN UNKEMPT man walks into a pricey shop. The staff dismiss him—until he takes off his jacket and reveals a gilet emblazoned with “SK Hynix”, a semiconductor firm known for handing out massive bonuses. This imagined scene—a recent skit on a South Korean comedy show—lampoons real ones unfolding as AI-driven wealth floods the country. Companies that help arrange marriages report a big jump in the desirability of engineers from SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, another semiconductor-maker. They are now nearly as sought after as doctors and lawyers.