Having lived and worked in Korea as an expat for over two decades, I have observed a phenomenon that initially appeared counterintuitive from my perspective. Throughout my experience here across numerous industries, on multiple occasions, when a company has been acquired or received a material investment, one of the first priorities of the founders on cashing out is often the purchase of property or accumulation of fixed assets rather than the reinvestment of capital into business expansion, innovation or new opportunities. From a Western business perspective, this may appear somewhat limiting, as a liquidity event often represents an opportunity to redeploy capital into additional growth or wealth enhancement. However, over the course of my time in Korea I have gradually come to better understand the historical, cultural and structural factors behind this tendency. One factor is the differing perception of leverage and "productive debt." In many Western economies, particularly amongst entrepreneurial and investment circles, leverage with liquidity is often viewed as a strategic tool wh