Silver demand surges in South Korea with prices hitting record high

China

Silver demand surges in South Korea with prices hitting record high

2025-10-19 17:23 Last Updated At：22:27

South Korea is witnessing a surge in silver demand with prices repeatedly hitting record highs, far outpacing the performance of gold.

According to data from the Korea Gold Exchange, silver was trading at 2,467 won per gram (about 1.9 U.S. dollars) on October 17 - marking a nearly 70 percent increase since the beginning of the year.

In Seoul's Jongno District, home to one of the country's largest precious metal trading hubs, business has been booming. Even on weekday afternoons, stores were crowded with customers inquiring and placing orders.

According to a store manager, many investors have shifted their attention from gold - which requires a higher upfront investment - to more affordable silver products such as bars and commemorative plates.

Since October, the shop has received orders totaling two tonnes of silver bars, 10 times more than the same period last year.

"Rather than holding cash, I think buying precious metals is a better way to preserve value. A lot of people around me are buying silver accessories - it's simply more accessible than gold," said a customer.

The rising demand has strained supply. Major South Korean banks have reported combined silver bar sales of 10.4 billion won (about 8 million U.S. dollars) this year, 13 times higher than last year.

With inventories running low, several commercial banks and precious metal platforms announced they will suspend silver bar sales starting from Monday.

Shenzhou-23 astronauts enter Tiangong space station, meet Shenzhou-21 crew

The three astronauts aboard China's Shenzhou-23 spaceship have entered the country's Tiangong space station and met with their astronaut colleagues early Monday morning, as they now begin an in-orbit crew handover.

Mission commander Zhu Yangzhu and fellow astronauts Zhang Zhiyuan and Lai Ka-ying successfully entered the station's core module Tianhe after the spaceship made a fast automated rendezvous and docked with the Tianhe module at 02:45 (Beijing Time) on Monday.

The three Shenzhou-21 crew members opened the hatch at 05:13 (Beijing Time) and greeted the new arrivals, according to the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA).

The six astronauts then took group pictures for the eighth in-orbit get-together in China's aerospace history.

Notably, one of the Shenzhou-23 crew members is set to undertake a year-long stay aboard the space station, double the usual duration of previous Shenzhou missions.

The Shenzhou-23 spaceship, atop a Long March-2F carrier rocket, blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China at 23:08 (Beijing Time) on Sunday.

Shenzhou-23 marks the 40th flight of China's manned spaceflight program and the seventh manned flight mission since the Tiangong space station entered its application and development phase in late 2022.