FLKR vs MKOR

FLKRBFranklin FTSE South Korea ETF

MKORDMatthews Korea Active ETF MKOR

In short

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.

MKOR Korea, stock by stock. MKOR is an actively managed, Asia-specialist take on a corner of the ETF market that cheap index trackers mostly own: one country, one team's picks, and a price tag to match.

Stated mandate

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.

MKOR The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• MKOR Active by design: the managers pick Korean stocks in pursuit of long-term capital appreciation instead of owning whatever an index prints.
• Run by an Asia-focused shop, and the portfolio sits where the filings say it should: South Korean equities, no drift into the neighbors.
• A plain 1940 Act fund wrapper holding stocks. No notes, no partnership paperwork, and a strategy whose history goes back to a 2010 launch.

Worth knowing

• 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.

• MKOR 0.79% a year is real money against the roughly 0.50% median for single-country funds, and passive Korea rivals like FLKR charge 0.09%.
• Thinly traded and one of the smaller funds in its category, so wider spreads are part of the deal.
• Everything rides on one market, with no other countries to cushion a rough stretch in Korea. Cash comes back once or twice a year, not monthly.

Full FLKR profile⁠

Full MKOR profile⁠