USD/KRW is the tenth pair on this list, and it puts the US dollar against the South Korean won. This forex pair made up 1.9% of daily forex transactions in 2019 – the first year that USD/KRW has made it into a list of the top ten most traded currencies.1
The South Korean economy has grown during the turn of this century to become the fourth largest in Asia and the eleventh in the world as of November 2019. This could be a reason for the increased activity that USD/KRW has experienced, as traders and speculators seek exposure to another key Asian market, besides those of Japan, China and Hong Kong.
Economic growth in South Korea has been so impressive – especially since the end of the Korean war in 1953 – that people often refer to it as the Miracle on the Han River. This growth is now being capitalised on, and South Korea enjoys membership of the United Nations, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the G20, making the country and its currency an exciting opportunity for many market participants.