USD/KRW
USD/KRW is the final 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 made it into a list of the top ten most traded currencies.1
The South Korean economy has grown during the first decades of the 21st century to become the fourth largest in Asia and the tenth largest in the world – measured in terms of nominal GDP – as of August 2021. 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.
However, in 2022 the volume of USD/KRW transactions fell slightly, representing 1.7% of the market in April 2022.
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.
