The iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY) gained 3.1% as part of a broader rally in Korean equities. According to the sources, South Korea's KOSPI Composite index rose over 30% year-to-date, recently breaking through 5,800. EWY itself has gained 39.08% year-to-date and has attracted net inflows of $2.72 billion since the start of the year. Global funds have been pouring into Korean stocks through multiple ETF products, with Korea-focused exchange-traded funds dominating top U.S. market performance rankings. The sources note that emerging market fund inflows are reinforcing this trend, with Korea's significant weighting in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index driving structural buying demand for major Korean companies. EWY tracks the MSCI Korea Index and has been among the top-performing U.S.-listed equity ETFs.
Read full analysisThe iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY) gained 3.1% as part of a broader rally in Korean equities. According to the sources, South Korea's KOSPI Composite index rose over 30% year-to-date, recently breaking through 5,800. EWY itself has gained 39.08% year-to-date and has attracted net inflows of $2.72 billion since the start of the year. Global funds have been pouring into Korean stocks through multiple ETF products, with Korea-focused exchange-traded funds dominating top U.S. market performance rankings. The sources note that emerging market fund inflows are reinforcing this trend, with Korea's significant weighting in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index driving structural buying demand for major Korean companies. EWY tracks the MSCI Korea Index and has been among the top-performing U.S.-listed equity ETFs.
EWY is a BlackRock iShares ETF tracking the MSCI South Korea Index, with nearly half its portfolio concentrated in semiconductor giants Samsung Electronics (28%) and SK Hynix (19%)—the world's dominant memory chip manufacturers and key suppliers of high-bandwidth memory for AI infrastructure. South Korean shipbuilders including Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai Heavy Industries also feature prominently, with the tanker shipping market adding a secondary performance driver in 2026. The fund has become the focal point of a historic capital rotation into international markets, attracting $2.72 billion in net inflows year-to-date and gaining over 30% as the KOSPI breached 5,800.