S Koreans discuss credit crunch

At the end of a week in which shares in South Korea's stock market fell by 20%, four South Koreans tell the BBC News how rising prices and financial uncertainty are affecting them.

ALEX SANGYONG CHO, BUSINESSMAN, SEOUL

Alex says his friends in small companies are worried for their jobs

I moved all my money out of the stock market and into cash about four months ago, when I noticed the Korean won starting to slip on the exchange rate.

The cost of food and eating out has definitely gone up. So have public services, such as gas. And taxis.

About two or three months ago I started to change the way I do things.

I don't go out drinking like before and I've stopped going to nice expensive restaurants. I have started to look for coupons and restaurant discounts.

I think this downturn will be more serious than the one we had 10 years ago. Back then, people became patriots of the government. That's not happening this time around.

This time it's a global problem, involving the United States. It's more risky than the oil crisis or the dot com bubble.

CHINSOL KIM, CIVIL SERVANT, SEOUL

My work involves monitoring standards in restaurants.

Chinsol Kim says his job is more secure than those in the private sector

Many of the restaurant owners I visit are complaining that business is down. The number of customers has dropped very recently.

Living costs are getting higher. I have noticed that the cheese and milk I buy from the supermarket is more expensive.

Petrol costs were high, but the price is coming down, it's now $1.10 (70p) a litre. It's hard to find cheap items in markets, we worry about inflation.

We import many items from China so the falling price of our currency, the won, will not help.

Today I bought some shares in the South Korean car company, Kia. Even though the share price was low, it has still dropped 13% since I bought them!

I won't sell until the price goes up again, but that may not be for another year.

SEON-GUK KIM, STUDENT, SEOUL

I finish my degree in advertising and PR in February next year.

Seonghuk Kim visiting Berlin in 2006

I don't think it will be easy at all to get a job - but it was like this even before the financial crisis.

I have applied to at least 60 companies for a job in marketing - that's normal - and I am through to the next stage with three or four of them.

What makes me feel worse is the media, it's always on the news. I think the atmosphere makes everyone feel bad about it. We are all worrying about an uncertain future.

As far as I know, the prices of essential stuff, like food and paper tissues, have already gone up.

I am managing OK financially; I work part time in the college restaurant and I worked all holidays, teaching English in a summer camp. So right now money is not a big problem for me.

DONG-HYUN KANG, BUSINESS STUDENT, 18, SEOUL

The price of music CDs, like Coldplay, has gone up a lot.

Kang says competition for graduates in the job market is fierce

I usually buy CDs imported from Britain or the US. I wanted to get a new release recently, but the price was so enormous I decided against it.

It had gone up by about 50%, from 16,000 Korean won ($11) to 24,000 won ($17).

I want to be an entrepreneur, especially in the financial sector. It would be good to start by working for a big company like Samsung Electronics or Hyundai Motors, but getting in is very difficult.

I'm not very optimistic: the government has lost its credibility and economic officials are changing their position too often which increases market uncertainty.

I think Korea's economic structure is also very distorted. The property and building industry plays too large a role in our domestic economy, while other industries play too small a role.

House prices are too high, so people burden themselves with large mortgages. All this leaves us vulnerable.