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29-Sep (BusinessInsider) — Nineteen years ago, South Korea came
precipitously close to bankruptcy.
The Asian financial crisis had spread like a virus. Thailand, Malaysia,
Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries were all affected, inciting
fears of a global economic meltdown if the crisis couldn’t be contained.
… At the time, it was estimated that South Korean households held roughly
$20 billion in gold, in the form of necklaces, coins, bars, trinkets,
statuettes, medals, pendants, military insignias and more. Most of it carried
strong personal and familial significance, far beyond its monetary value.
…Nearly 3.5 million people, almost a quarter of the entire country’s
population, voluntarily participated in the campaign. Queues of people—young
and old, rich and poor—stretched for blocks outside special donation points,
all of them answering the call to help their country. Yellow ribbons
proclaiming “Let’s overcome the foreign currency crisis by collecting gold”
could be found pinned to people’s shirts.
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