South Korea’s AI Advancement Is Reshaping Romance, Reality TV, and Academic Preferences

The rally in South Korea’s AI stocks is rapidly transforming different corners of the country’s society, from romance to academics.

In the Korean dating world, professionals such as doctors, lawyers, and judges have traditionally been the most sought after. Now preferences are changing, as the rise of AI makes those working in the chip sector (replete with hefty bonuses) the new gems of the dating pool.

“Recently, we have seen a greater preference for people working at semiconductor companies such as SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics, as well as occupations related to artificial intelligence,” said a spokesperson for Korean brokerage company Gayeon.

Samsung and SK Hynix joined the trillion-dollar club earlier this year, and their share prices have each risen about 95% and about 135% so far this year.

Large bonus payments have given employees at the chip giants an advantage.

Last year, SK Hynix agreed to share 10% of its operating profit, equivalent to about 700 million won per employee, or just over half a million dollars, according to Reuters calculations. This is more than 15 times the average annual salary that Koreans took home last year.

Under Samsung’s salary agreement, employees in the memory chip division will earn slightly less than their colleagues at SK Hynix.

The new stardom of workers at the chip giants comes as Korean singles increasingly see marriage as a financial advantage.

Korean media has even started calling this “wedding leverage,” the idea that pooling two incomes is the quickest way to afford a home deposit or build a significant investment portfolio.

That said, those in the chip sector looking for partners are becoming increasingly demanding and finance is not always among their top preferences.

“Our clients working in semiconductor-related jobs now also show a tendency to consider a broader range of factors in a potential partner, not just occupation or finances,” the Gayeon spokesperson said.

Realities 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 uniting Samsung and SK Hynix employees aired on August 13 and accumulated around 650,000 views.

“The content was intended to focus on the hectic daily lives of office workers, using quotes, a relatable theme, to offer familiarity and fun,” a Teo spokesperson said. “The timing also aligned well with the two companies’ AI-driven rise, which helped resonate with a broader audience.”

Netflix launched a variety show last month titled “Rookie Kim’s Stock Market Mission,” documenting the trading journey of a popular comedian. The show begins with the comedian buying some SK Hynix shares, which resonated with Korean retail investors, a group that represents one in four of the population.

AI fervor is affecting even high-level education, an important rite of passage in Korean society. At Seoul National University, Korea’s so-called Harvard, electrical and computer engineering has gained popularity as the major is closely associated with AI-related jobs.

Nine in 10 students in undeclared majors at the Faculty of Engineering chose to study electrical and computer engineering this year, compared to just two in 10 in 2023, according to university data.

“Korean students are not simply pursuing ‘AI’ as an abstract topic: they are pursuing a specific and visible national channel toward hardware divisions like Samsung and SK Hynix,” Lim said. These jobs offer “clearer and more immediate rewards” for having stable, regular positions at large companies than just another career, he said.