Korea Ranks Top 5 in Gold Reserves?

That was annual mining output, not reserves, being ranked 5th one year—they just remembered it wrong due to a knowledge gap or poor comprehension

Going too hard on nationalist pride actually backfires...

Gold and silver production, along with the chemical processes to separate them from alloys, essentially functioned as the standard for currency rates in pre-modern times—so the Joseon government heavily restricted gold and silver production itself (banned the gold-silver separation technique, which then leaked to Japan anyway). But on the flip side, actually producing money (silver) meant economic vitality. So not minting as much probably hurt Joseon long-term (especially given the national policy of keeping productivity deliberately low). That could explain why there was a phenomenon of 'why aren't these guys mining gold' through the 20th century. Plus, as technology improved, so did the ability to assess profitability—so late-Joseon reserves would've looked pretty decent comparatively. Not matching South Africa in absolute quantity, but still.

Even if Japan got partitioned, there's no guarantee Korea wouldn't also be divided. And even without division, Soviet influence would've surged in East Asia—wouldn't a communist takeover be likely? The Cold War split things in half with that US(+US-occupied Japan) vs. China-Soviet structure, and it'd be the same with China-Soviet(+Soviet-occupied Japan) vs. US(+part of Japan). How Korea survives that? You want that under Kim rule?

That wasn't reserves—it was annual mining output, hitting around 30 tons at peak, which was top 5-6 for a few years. But South Africa was insanely hoarding like 40-50% of global gold mining output, so comparing only those two is unrealistic. For countries in the top gold reserves rankings, you also gotta account for the fact most have huge landmasses. North Korea's estimated 10th-rank gold deposits are actually upper-tier relative to land size. As for Japanese colonial exploitation—the stupid stuff King Kojong did, draining his own pocket fund and handing over map hacks and Unsan Gold Mine to everyone, that's on him, not Japan to blame. Even if Japan didn't plunder, Russia or Qing China would've just taken it instead, or if he got lucky and avoided looting entirely, foreign development companies would've eaten most of it anyway and Kojong would've blown his scraps on gun salutes at Gyeongbokgung Palace and supercars.

The partition thing—if Japanese military couldn't invade the continent, whether China would go communist is up in the air. The 'what-ifs' never end. Even if Japan surrendered in that unwinnable war just a bit earlier, the Soviets wouldn't show up and the North-South partition would play out differently. But Japan's imperial expansion and collapse actually happened—not hypothetical—and while it might not be the direct cause of division, it definitely set the background conditions. It had significant stakes in shaping East Asia's current structure.

honestly this explains why their economy is so stable, they've been quietly stacking gold while everyone else was distracted 💰

nah this can't be right, pretty sure the US and China have way more... unless this is counting something else?