How to invest in South Korea using ETFs
How do I invest in South Korean stocks?
The easiest way to invest in the whole South Korean stock market is to invest in a broad market index. This can be done at low cost by using ETFs.
On the South Korean stock market you'll find 2 indices which are tracked by ETFs.
Alternatively, you can invest in indices on the Asia-Pacific region and Emerging Markets.
Performance of South Korean stocks (MSCI Korea 20/35)
Indices in comparison
The best indices for ETFs on South Korea
For an investment in the South Korean stock market, there are 2 indices available which are tracked by 5 ETFs. On the FTSE Korea 30/18 Capped index there is 1 ETF. On the MSCI Korea 20/35 index there are 4 ETFs. The total expense ratio (TER) of ETFs on these indices is between 0.09% p.a. and 0.65% p.a..
| Index | Investment focus | Number of ETFs | Number of constituents | Short description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
FTSE Korea 30/18 Capped | South Korea | 1 ETF | 152 (30/01/2026) | The FTSE Korea 30/18 Capped index tracks the largest stocks from South Korea. The largest company in the index is limited to a maximum of 30 percent of the index capitalization, all other index components to a maximum of 18 percent. Index factsheet |
MSCI Korea 20/35 | South Korea | 4 ETFs | 81 (30/01/2026) | The MSCI Korea 20/35 index tracks large and mid cap Korean stocks. The weight of the largest constituent is constrained to 35% and the weights of all other constituents are constrained to a maximum of 20%. Index factsheet |
| ETF ISIN | Fund size in m CHF | TER in % | Use of profits | Fund domicile | Replication method | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin FTSE Korea UCITS ETF IE00BHZRR030 | 3,694 | 0.09% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Full replication | |
| Amundi MSCI Korea UCITS ETF AccLU1900066975 | 890 | 0.45% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
| iShares MSCI Korea UCITS ETF (Dist)IE00B0M63391 | 875 | 0.65% p.a. | Distributing | Ireland | Full replication | |
| iShares MSCI Korea UCITS ETF (Acc)IE00B5W4TY14 | 637 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Full replication | |
| HSBC MSCI Korea Capped UCITS ETF USDIE00B3Z0X395 | 397 | 0.50% p.a. | Distributing | Ireland | Full replication |
| Index | 1 month in % | 3 months in % | 6 months in % | 1 year in % | 3 years in % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSCI Korea 20/35 | 5.66% | -2.45% | 60.36% | 153.18% | 207.82% | |
| FTSE Korea 30/18 Capped | 5.54% | -3.25% | 65.02% | 157.58% | 212.90% |
| Index | 2026 in % | 2025 in % | 2024 in % | 2023 in % | 2022 in % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSCI Korea 20/35 | 99.79% | 74.06% | -15.68% | 8.69% | -27.44% | |
| FTSE Korea 30/18 Capped | 106.15% | 70.66% | -15.79% | 11.78% | -27.84% |
Source: justETF.com; As of 30/09/2026; Calculations in CHF based on the largest ETF of the respective index.
The best South Korea ETFs
by 1 year return
| 1 | Franklin FTSE Korea UCITS ETF | 157.58% |
| 2 | Amundi MSCI Korea UCITS ETF Acc | 153.18% |
| 3 | HSBC MSCI Korea Capped UCITS ETF USD | 152.54% |
The cheapest South Korea ETFs
by total expense ratio (TER)
| 1 | Franklin FTSE Korea UCITS ETF | 0.09% p.a. |
| 2 | Amundi MSCI Korea UCITS ETF Acc | 0.45% p.a. |
| 3 | HSBC MSCI Korea Capped UCITS ETF USD | 0.50% p.a. |
Asia-Pacific indices with a large share of South Korea
Besides South Korea ETFs, you may consider ETFs on the Asia-Pacific region. In total, you can invest in 5 Asia-Pacific indices, which are tracked by 10 ETFs. The total expense ratio (TER) of ETFs on Asia-Pacific is between 0.15% p.a. and 0.74% p.a..
| Index | Investment focus | Number of ETFs | Number of constituents | Short description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FTSE Developed Asia Pacific ex Japan | Asia Pacific South Korea: 45.58% (27/02/2026) | 2 ETFs | 373 (31/07/2026) | The FTSE Developed Asia Pacific ex Japan index tracks large and mid cap stocks from developed countries in the Asia Pacific region excluding Japan. Index factsheet |
| MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan | Asia Pacific South Korea: 17.95% (27/02/2026) | 1 ETF | 1,034 (30/09/2026) | The MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan index tracks equity markets of the emerging and developed countries of the Asia and Pacific region, excluding Japan. Index factsheet |
| MSCI AC Asia ex Japan | Asia Pacific South Korea: 20.63% (27/02/2026) | 1 ETF | 986 (30/09/2026) | The MSCI AC Asia ex Japan index tracks equity markets of the emerging and developed countries of the Asia region, excluding Japan. Index factsheet |
| MSCI AC Far East ex Japan | Asia Pacific South Korea: 24.17% (27/02/2026) | 2 ETFs | 821 (30/09/2026) | The MSCI AC Far East ex Japan index tracks equity markets of the emerging and developed countries of the East Asian region, excluding Japan. Index factsheet |
| MSCI Emerging Markets Asia | Asia Pacific South Korea: 22.40% (27/02/2026) | 4 ETFs | 946 (30/09/2026) | The MSCI Emerging Markets Asia index tracks large and mid cap companies from Asian emerging markets. Index factsheet |
| ETF ISIN | Fund size in m CHF | TER in % | Use of profits | Fund domicile | Replication method | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iShares MSCI EM Asia UCITS ETF (Acc)IE00B5L8K969 | 6,947 | 0.20% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Full replication | |
| Vanguard FTSE Developed Asia Pacific ex Japan UCITS ETF DistributingIE00B9F5YL18 | 1,587 | 0.15% p.a. | Distributing | Ireland | Full replication | |
| Amundi MSCI Emerging Markets Asia UCITS ETF EUR (C)LU1681044480 | 1,585 | 0.20% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
| iShares MSCI AC Far East ex-Japan UCITS ETFIE00B0M63730 | 1,533 | 0.74% p.a. | Distributing | Ireland | Full replication | |
| State Street SPDR MSCI EM Asia UCITS ETF USDIE00B466KX20 | 1,300 | 0.55% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Full replication | |
| Vanguard FTSE Developed Asia Pacific ex Japan UCITS ETF (USD) AccumulatingIE00BK5BQZ41 | 862 | 0.15% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Full replication | |
| UBS MSCI AC Asia ex Japan SF UCITS ETF USD accIE00B7WK2W23 | 857 | 0.23% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Swap-based | |
| Amundi MSCI AC Asia Pacific Ex Japan UCITS ETF AccLU1900068328 | 841 | 0.60% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
| Amundi MSCI Emerging Markets Asia UCITS ETF USDLU1681044563 | 719 | 0.20% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
| HSBC MSCI AC Far East ex Japan UCITS ETF USDIE00BBQ2W338 | 375 | 0.45% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Full replication |
| Index | 1 month in % | 3 months in % | 6 months in % | 1 year in % | 3 years in % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan | 2.50% | 3.17% | 27.53% | 33.62% | 71.64% | |
| MSCI AC Asia ex Japan | 3.37% | 2.68% | 30.45% | 37.01% | 80.52% | |
| MSCI Emerging Markets Asia | 3.62% | 1.98% | 31.87% | 38.64% | 84.43% | |
| MSCI AC Far East ex Japan | 4.35% | 3.42% | 33.90% | 45.62% | 101.01% | |
| FTSE Developed Asia Pacific ex Japan | 3.41% | 0.10% | 34.89% | 63.08% | 95.16% |
| Index | 2026 in % | 2025 in % | 2024 in % | 2023 in % | 2022 in % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan | 29.69% | 12.66% | 18.85% | -3.18% | -16.72% | |
| MSCI AC Asia ex Japan | 32.30% | 15.58% | 20.92% | -3.97% | -18.87% | |
| MSCI Emerging Markets Asia | 33.40% | 15.84% | 21.06% | -2.35% | -19.06% | |
| MSCI AC Far East ex Japan | 40.74% | 22.44% | 20.65% | -7.16% | -19.83% | |
| FTSE Developed Asia Pacific ex Japan | 49.65% | 23.28% | 1.99% | 0.73% | -11.56% |
Source: justETF.com; As of 30/09/2026; Calculations in CHF based on the largest ETF of the respective index.
Emerging markets indices with a large share of South Korea
Besides South Korea ETFs you may consider emerging markets ETFs. In total, you can invest in 1 emerging markets index, which is tracked by 19 ETFs. The total expense ratio (TER) of ETFs on emerging markets is between 0.09% p.a. and 0.55% p.a..
| Index | Investment focus | Number of ETFs | Number of constituents | Short description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSCI Emerging Markets | Emerging Markets South Korea: 18.08% (27/02/2026) | 19 ETFs | 1,165 (30/09/2026) | The MSCI Emerging Markets index tracks stocks from emerging markets worldwide. Index factsheet |
| ETF ISIN | Fund size in m CHF | TER in % | Use of profits | Fund domicile | Replication method | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xtrackers MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF 1CIE00BTJRMP35 | 11,507 | 0.18% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
| iShares MSCI EM UCITS ETF (Acc)IE00B4L5YC18 | 8,590 | 0.18% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Full replication | |
| iShares MSCI EM UCITS ETF (Dist)IE00B0M63177 | 8,281 | 0.18% p.a. | Distributing | Ireland | Full replication | |
| UBS Core MSCI EM UCITS ETF USD accLU0950674175 | 7,537 | 0.15% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Optimized sampling | |
| Amundi Core MSCI Emerging Markets Swap UCITS ETF DistLU2573966905 | 5,086 | 0.14% p.a. | Distributing | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
| Amundi Core MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF AccLU1437017350 | 3,970 | 0.18% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Full replication | |
| Amundi MSCI Emerging Markets Swap UCITS ETF EUR AccLU1681045370 | 3,946 | 0.20% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
| HSBC MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF USDIE00B5SSQT16 | 3,413 | 0.15% p.a. | Distributing | Ireland | Full replication | |
| UBS Core MSCI EM UCITS ETF USD disLU0480132876 | 2,610 | 0.15% p.a. | Distributing | Luxembourg | Optimized sampling | |
| State Street SPDR MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF USDIE00B469F816 | 1,847 | 0.18% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Full replication | |
| Amundi MSCI Emerging Markets Swap UCITS ETF USD AccLU1681045453 | 1,345 | 0.20% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
| Amundi Core MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF EUR DistLU1737652583 | 1,049 | 0.18% p.a. | Distributing | Luxembourg | Full replication | |
| Amundi MSCI Emerging Markets Swap II UCITS ETF EUR AccFR0010429068 | 852 | 0.55% p.a. | Accumulating | France | Unfunded swap | |
| Xtrackers MSCI Emerging Markets Swap UCITS ETF 1CLU0292107645 | 824 | 0.49% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
| Invesco MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF AccIE00B3DWVS88 | 416 | 0.09% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Unfunded swap | |
| UBS MSCI EM SF UCITS ETF USD accIE00B3Z3FS74 | 143 | 0.14% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Swap-based | |
| UBS ETF (LU) MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF (USD) A-UKdisLU1126036976 | 92 | 0.15% p.a. | Distributing | Luxembourg | Optimized sampling | |
| BNP Paribas Easy MSCI Emerging UCITS ETF AccLU3086273813 | 62 | 0.09% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
| Amundi MSCI Emerging Markets Swap II UCITS ETF USD AccFR0010435297 | 38 | 0.55% p.a. | Accumulating | France | Unfunded swap |
| Index | 1 month in % | 3 months in % | 6 months in % | 1 year in % | 3 years in % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSCI Emerging Markets | 3.07% | 2.71% | 27.55% | 35.03% | 74.74% |
| Index | 2026 in % | 2025 in % | 2024 in % | 2023 in % | 2022 in % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSCI Emerging Markets | 30.50% | 16.97% | 16.24% | -0.54% | -19.25% |
Source: justETF.com; As of 30/09/2026; Calculations in CHF based on the largest ETF of the respective index.
