Sungwoo Choi “Banking User Manual”

April 27, 2024 692 Views

Finance and economics are inextricably intertwined in our lives. As long as you live in a country that chooses a capitalist system, you might have a hard time without knowledge of “money”, also called “capital”.

In fact, the economy is heavily influenced by a country’s financial policies. In 2019 and 2021, when the world was locked down due to COVID-19, the government, fearing a recession due to the pandemic, gave people money off the books and lowered the key interest rate to zero.

This naturally led to a sharp increase in inflation, and the government resorted to high interest rates to control inflation. In the end, these high interest rate policies made it difficult for businesses to operate, and while in the United States, companies continue to perform well even in high interest rates, this is not the case in Korea.

In the end, our lives are greatly affected by the “economic policies” that a country chooses.

“Banking User Manual”

“Banking User’s Manual” by Choi Sung-woo is a book that covers the economic and financial fields, especially banking. Nowadays, with the establishment of internet banks such as TOSS and Kakao Bank, banks are becoming more transparent than in the past, but in 2013, when the book was published, banks were dominated by traditional banks, and the environment was not as online-friendly as it is now. Therefore, it was a relatively “closed” place.

It was a time when you could find “banks” all around you, but not much was known about what exactly they did.

“A book that communicates about banking, securities, and insurance”

The book is literally a “banking instruction manual”. Within this overarching theme, the book is divided into three subtopics: banking, securities, and insurance.

Each part is organized in a similar format. Using banks as an example, it starts with a basic explanation of what banks are. It gives the reader basic but essential information about how banks make money, the difference between deposits and savings, and how interest rates are set.

After the basic information, the book goes on to explain each of the financial products offered by “banks, securities companies, and insurance companies” through specific examples. The “Q&A” format is a friendly way of answering common questions that people have.

“In this case, do this. But be careful…”

The book explains each product both in general and in detail, and includes practical knowledge that you can use in real life. This is why the conclusion of each chapter says, “Do this in this case, and watch out for these things.”

As the book’s title suggests, it’s more of a “banking encyclopedia” than a “banking user’s manual,” as it’s all about how you can use your bank.

However, the book was published in 2013, so it may be a bit out of date. Financial markets and policies are changing rapidly with the times, and banks have recently become more open with their information by building mobile-friendly environments and various types of counseling services, so it may be better to get information from face-to-face interactions with various banks rather than reading a book.

Nevertheless, it may be helpful to familiarize yourself with the basic concepts and information about banks, securities, and insurance companies that are organized in the book.

“Banking User’s Guide: How to Get All the Financial Companies in Korea on Your Side”