EWY vs FLKR

EWYCiShares MSCI South Korea ETF

FLKRBFranklin FTSE South Korea ETF

In short

EWY Korea in one ticker since 2000: a multi-billion-dollar, heavily traded fund built on a capped index so no single conglomerate swallows the portfolio. Newer rivals charge far less for similar exposure.

FLKR Korea in one passive basket for 0.09% a year, a fraction of the 0.50% typical single-country fee. Roughly 160 Korean names tracking a capped FTSE index, run as plain index plumbing rather than a stock-picking bet.

Stated mandate

EWY The fund seeks to track an index of South Korean equities, providing targeted exposure to companies in South Korea.

FLKR The Fund uses a passive indexing approach to seek returns that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the FTSE South Korea Capped Index.

Why people hold it

• EWY Trading since 2000, through every Korean boom and bust, and still a multi-billion-dollar fund that is very actively traded.
• Tracks the MSCI Korea 25/50 Index, a capped build that limits how far any single issuer can dominate roughly 80 holdings.ishares.com
• One ticker buys the South Korean equity market: no ADR hunting, no local brokerage account.ishares.com

• FLKR Charges 0.09% a year against a 0.50% median for single-country developed-market ETFs, tying FLAU as the cheapest fee among this cohort's leaders and undercutting EWC and EWU by a wide margin.
• Straight indexing: it seeks returns that closely correspond, before fees, to the FTSE South Korea Capped Index. No manager views, no discretionary tilts.
• The capped index spreads roughly 160 stocks and limits how far any single giant can dominate the basket, which matters in a market this top-heavy.
• A billion-dollar-plus fund that trades actively, and it has been running since 2017, so it is well past the launch-window stage.

Worth knowing

• EWY At 0.59% a year it runs above the typical single-country developed fund, and Franklin's FLKR charges 0.09% for Korea exposure.
• Everything rides on one country and roughly 80 names, so Korean policy, sector cycles and won moves land directly in the price.
• Income arrives annually or semiannually, not on a monthly drip.

• FLKR One country, one currency. Korean shares price in won, so the exchange rate is baked into what a US investor sees, separate from how the companies do.
• Roughly 160 stocks in a single export-driven market is a narrow slice next to a global fund. Capping softens concentration, it does not erase it.
• Distributions land annually or semiannually, not monthly, so it is built as an equity holding rather than an income schedule.

Full EWY profile⁠

Full FLKR profile⁠