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 0 indices which are tracked by ETFs.

Alternatively, you can invest in indices on the Asia-Pacific region and Emerging Markets.

 

Indices in comparison

The best indices for ETFs on South Korea

 
  • For the selected origin country, there are no ETFs available for the South Korean stock market.
    You are able to select your country of origin on the top of the screen.
 
Alternative investment opportunities

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 2 Asia-Pacific indices, which are tracked by 3 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: 28.19%
(30/11/2022)
2 ETFs 399
(31/08/2023)
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 Far East ex Japan Asia Pacific
South Korea: 16.39%
(30/11/2022)
1 ETF 846
(28/11/2025)
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
ETF
ISIN
  Fund size
in m EUR
TER
in %
Use of profits Fund domicile Replication method
Vanguard FTSE Developed Asia Pacific ex Japan UCITS ETF DistributingIE00B9F5YL18 1,263 0.15% p.a. Distributing Ireland Full replication
iShares MSCI AC Far East ex-Japan UCITS ETFIE00B0M63730 920 0.74% p.a. Distributing Ireland Full replication
Vanguard FTSE Developed Asia Pacific ex Japan UCITS ETF (USD) AccumulatingIE00BK5BQZ41 399 0.15% p.a. Accumulating Ireland Full replication
 
Index   1 month
in %
3 months
in %
6 months
in %
1 year
in %
3 years
in %
FTSE Developed Asia Pacific ex Japan -3.40% 7.20% 16.80% 14.12% 23.87%
MSCI AC Far East ex Japan -4.52% 9.73% 21.51% 24.76% 39.91%
Index   2025
in %
2024
in %
2023
in %
2022
in %
2021
in %
FTSE Developed Asia Pacific ex Japan 19.19% 0.30% 7.20% -7.26% 9.46%
MSCI AC Far East ex Japan 22.25% 18.71% -1.28% -15.89% -2.74%

Source: justETF.com; As of 30/11/2025; Calculations in EUR 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 3 ETFs. The total expense ratio (TER) of ETFs on emerging markets is between 0.15% p.a. and 0.18% p.a..

 
Index Investment focus Number of ETFs Number of constituents Short description
MSCI Emerging Markets Emerging Markets
South Korea: 11.95%
(30/11/2022)
3 ETFs 1,196
(28/11/2025)
The MSCI Emerging Markets index tracks stocks from emerging markets worldwide.
Index factsheet
ETF
ISIN
  Fund size
in m EUR
TER
in %
Use of profits Fund domicile Replication method
iShares MSCI EM UCITS ETF (Dist)IE00B0M63177 6,035 0.18% p.a. Distributing Ireland Full replication
UBS Core MSCI EM UCITS ETF USD disLU0480132876 1,922 0.15% p.a. Distributing Luxembourg Optimized sampling
Amundi Core MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF EUR DistLU1737652583 843 0.18% p.a. Distributing Luxembourg Full replication
 
Index   1 month
in %
3 months
in %
6 months
in %
1 year
in %
3 years
in %
MSCI Emerging Markets -3.25% 9.80% 17.12% 18.46% 35.59%
Index   2025
in %
2024
in %
2023
in %
2022
in %
2021
in %
MSCI Emerging Markets 17.91% 14.41% 5.84% -13.82% 3.82%

Source: justETF.com; As of 30/11/2025; Calculations in EUR based on the largest ETF of the respective index.