South Korea is experiencing a gold investment boom, with gold banking balances exceeding ₩1.1 trillion ($825 million) in April 2025, nearly double the figure from a year ago. Physical gold demand has also surged, with April sales of gold bars reaching ₩34.87 billion ($26 million), more than four times higher than April 2024. This increased demand has caused supply shortages, forcing manufacturers to temporarily halt distribution earlier this year. Banks are now gradually resuming sales of various gold bar sizes as inventory improves, with prices in Korea’s gold market up 16.3% since the end of 2024.

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WGC Q1 2026: What Asia Knows That Wall Street Doesn’t
Asian investors drove physical gold bar demand to an all-time quarterly record in Q1 2026 — while Western ETF holders sold. The WGC’s latest demand report shows which side of that trade is thinking in decades, not quarters.




