[Book Review] Capitalism: How to Utilize Economic News for Adults

When I started studying economics, the biggest obstacle was information.
Too much information. Too many rumors. Too many words. Without any standards, I was at a loss as to what to follow. First, I clung to the keywords real estate, capitalism, and investment and read whatever books I could get my hands on. Although I was gradually gaining a better understanding, books felt inadequate for grasping the rapidly changing trends of the world. It was time to turn my attention to faster media.
So, I subscribed to a few newsletters. For economics and real estate, Apetina Buding and Newnick are well-known, but I also found a new one. The Kojuboo newsletter is run by the Seoul Economic Daily, so I naturally felt more trust in it. This book was also introduced to me through Kojuboo. I hoped this book would teach me how to read economic newspapers, as newsletters alone weren't enough for me.
The second obstacle I encountered when I started studying economics was terminology.
Shamefully, even though I'm in my late thirties, I'm still an economics novice.
Initially, I didn't understand what a mortgage loan (주담대) was, what real interest rate (실질금리) meant, what a sales price upper limit system (분양가상한제) and a knowledge industry center (지식산업센터) were. Even reading a single newspaper article led to a chain of question marks. Therefore, I struggled with unfamiliar words when reading economic articles. This book seems to be designed specifically for beginners like me, and it's quite thorough in explaining basic terminology. It presents an economic article, explains the terminology first, then explains why the article is important, and finally provides a guided reading. In other words, it offers an interpretation of the article from the journalist's perspective. You might think that you can just search for the terms, but constantly looking up terms can be quite tedious. Moreover, when you're not sure if the interpretation is correct, verified information can save you the trouble.

The structure might seem overly simple for intermediate or advanced readers, but that's precisely what made it feel accessible to me as a novice. To be honest, <300 Questions and Answers about Economic News> (경제기사 궁금증 300문 300답), a classic in this field and often recommended, was too difficult for me, so I eventually gave up after reading a few chapters. However, this book was written at a level that even middle and high school students could understand. I've decided to use it as a kind of textbook and expand on it. Also, the book is slightly larger than an average book and has ample margins, making it ideal for taking notes.
In particular, the explanation of LTV, DTI, and DSR was very helpful. These concepts were similar and confusing, but presenting them with specific examples made them easier to understand. Since I anticipate that loans will be an inevitable part of any future home purchase, I felt it was necessary to solidify my understanding of these concepts, making this section even more valuable.
Finally, I've found the tip in the beginning of the book, suggesting viewing the front page of Naver News online, quite useful. For example, if you want to see the Seoul Economic Daily, you can access it through Naver News > Seoul Economic Daily > Newspaper View menu (https://media.naver.com/press/011/newspaper). The front page is displayed in order, making it easy to read. Adding this to your bookmarks can make reading the newspaper much more convenient, so I recommend it.
Anyway, I sincerely hope that in 6 months or a year, I'll be able to graduate from this book and read and understand economic news on my own. Until then, I'll have to keep this book close at hand and reread it several times.

I received this book through the Kojuboo newsletter and wrote this review based on my own opinion.