The CEO asked us,
“If you invest 1 million KRW every month for 30 years, how much will you have?
At this moment, I realized one thing: Taejae not only teaches us how to study, but also how to “make a living” and manage life right from when we are still students.
In the Korean Immersion course, my friends and I had a special experience: a company visit to Korea Particle Technology (KPT) located in the town of Osong.
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The Korean Immersion course visit replaced the Silicon Valley program for students who did not participate in the US global rotation. It is a one-of-a-kind opportunity that not every cohort gets to experience.
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The KPT CEO shared a simple but powerful idea. He called this mindset becoming a “small wealthy person,” someone who achieves financial freedom through steady saving and compound interest, not sudden fortune. Through practical questions, he helped us see how small, regular contributions can grow into significant wealth.
From this one trip, I learned many lessons about personal finance. The power of compound interest specifically stood out to me. Compound interest was a concept that seemed like it only appeared in Accounting or Corporate Finance classes. However, it turned out to be so relevant and practical to everyday life.
Revenue, net income, balance sheets… I was already familiar with concepts like these thanks to my business classes.
I even knew about compound interest, too. But these concepts seemed pretty far away from us, tied to Amazon or Meta, big corporations. Tied to our distant futures.
The CEO of KPT, on the other hand, asked simple, everyday questions:
“If you invest 1 million KRW every month for 30 years, how much will you have?”
“Does an average employee face difficulties maintaining such an investment?”
It was rare to hear a business leader speak so openly about his financial journey and mindset, and hearing about his career path made the lesson especially valuable. His relatable questions brought life to the concept of compound interest. It was no longer just a theory, but a tool anyone could apply to achieve financial freedom.
When you plant a tree: at first you sow one seed (capital), the tree grows and bears fruit (interest).
The next year, you not only still have the original tree but also new seeds from the fruit to sow more. Just like that, the garden grows bigger and bigger.
To explain simply, compound interest means “interest gives birth to interest.”
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That leads us to the key question: how do you invest properly, and how do you let interest generate more interest?
There are two common ways:
Compound interest, one-time: put in a single amount of money and let it grow over time..
Compound interest with regular contributions*:* put in money regularly every month, quarter, or annually.
In reality, we students can apply the second type, since it works well with our steady, smaller income.
This means that even as students, we can become a “small wealthy person” simply by putting in small amounts of money consistently.
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The advice here is to start as early as possible and keep it consistent.
You don’t need a lot of money at the beginning; the important thing is to build the habit. Saving 1 or 2 million won each month steadily is more valuable than waiting until you have a huge amount to start.
Another important part of the investing journey is to understand the investment product. If you are just starting out, you can choose the bank (savings account) for safety.
After that, try to learn about mutual funds, called ETFs, where there are already experts managing investments for you.
When you have more knowledge and experience, you can consider stocks, bonds, or real estate.
One thing you must always remember is diversification (don’t put all of your eggs in one basket).
Divide your capital into different channels to reduce risk: if one or two channels lose, you still have others, ensuring both safety and long-term growth opportunities.
For example: 50% in savings/funds, 30% in stocks, 20% kept as cash.
“The greatest value Taejae offers is not only financial knowledge, but a mindset: critical thinking, research, and practical questioning we can apply immediately and directly to life.”
On my way to the Korean Immersion company visit in Osong.
The KPT CEO illustrated his own investment method for us. He divides his capital into four equal categories, each 25%:
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US stocks (growth): ACE US S&P500
Korean stocks: KIWOOOM 200TR
10-year government bonds (safe, stable): KODEX US
Physical gold (risk prevention, value keeping): ACE KRX
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Reduce risk by diversifying where you invest.
Finally, remember that investing is a marathon, not a sprint. Don’t hope to get rich quickly; be patient and disciplined.
Looking back on experiences like these, I realize the greatest value Taejae offers is not only financial knowledge, but a mindset: critical thinking, research, and practical questioning we can apply immediately and directly to life.
The trip to KPT turned the textbook lesson on compound interest into a real compass for personal finance. Starting with small steps, all students can **truly become a “small wealthy person,” building wealth in a sustainable and smart way.
<aside> 🔍 Hoai is a first cohort student in the School of Business Innovation at Taejae University. She is the only Vietnamese student studying at Taejae.
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Future Value (FV) of a regular investment is calculated with the formula:
$FV = PMT * ((1 + i)^n - 1)/i$
Where:
PMT = the contribution amount per period (eg, 600,000 KRW/month)
i= interest rate per period (eg, 10%/year → i= 0.1/12 per month)
n = total number of periods (eg, 30 years = 360 months)
Real example: If you invest 600,000 KRW per month, with an average interest rate of 10%/year, after 30 years you will have nearly 1.356 billion KRW.
Or, you can easily calculate with Excel, or even just input this prompt into ChatGPT:
“Please calculate for me the total amount I will have after 30 years, if each month I invest 600,000 won, with an average compound interest rate of 10%/year, using the compound interest formula with regular contributions.”
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