Korea exports, Oct 1-10 · Korea Customs Service, Oct 12
Korea's exports 'doubled', but it had 1.6x the working days
Per working day, exports rose 1.3x. That daily pace is still a record for the first ten days of any month.
Twice as much in a single year? Really?
One quick calculation shows the real size.
① One box is one working day
Oct 1-10 had 3.5 working days last year and 5.5 days this year.
That alone is 1.6x as many days.
② The height is what was sold each day
Exports were about $3.7 billion a day last year and about $4.8 billion this year.
So each day sold 1.3x as much.
The whole coloured area is the ten-day total.
③ That is why the total doubled
Of the two numbers multiplied, working days (1.6x) is the bigger one.
The customs data also says exports per working day rose 28.5%.
④ Still, the daily pace ranks No. 1
About $4.8 billion a day is the highest for the first ten days of any month.
Even per working day, exports were 28.5% higher than a year earlier.
⑤ Where did the extra exports come from?
Of every $100 of added exports, about $58 came from chips.
One product filled more than half of the rise.
⑥ What it means for you
Ten days of Korean trade data will not change your bills right away.
But the calculation you just did works on any 'surge' headline.
- Do both periods have the same number of days?
- Is a holiday in only one of them?
- What does the per-day figure say?
The same check works on card bills, shop sales or your own monthly spending.
⑦ Keep in mind
Last year's figure was low: Oct 1-10 exports had fallen about 15% from the year before.
These are preliminary numbers and may be revised.
Check again when the full October figures come out.
Miyang sums it upTwice = 1.6x the days × 1.3x per day. The daily pace is still No. 1. Treats stay frozen.
Going deeper: the tracking record
We compare the same release over time and check these questions again when the next one comes out.
⑧ The same ten days, three years side by side
Oct 1-10 exports were about $15 billion in 2024 and about $13 billion last year.
This year's about $26 billion is the largest of the three.
What we will check next
When the next ten-day release comes out, we check both questions again.
The answers will be recorded here and on the follow-up page.
Will exports per working day still beat a year earlier in the next ten-day release?
- Today's value
- 2026년 하루 평균 수출 about $4.8 billion
- How to read it
- If they do, exports are growing beyond the extra working days.
- When
- No date in the source · checked at the next release
Will chips keep as large a share of exports in the next release?
- Today's value
- 반도체 수출 비중 46.7%
- How to read it
- If they do, export growth still leans on semiconductors.
- When
- No date in the source · checked at the next release
More numbers
| Item | Last year | This year | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exports, Oct 1-10 | about $13 billion | about $26 billion | 102% increase |
| Working days | 3.5 days | 5.5 days | two more |
| Exports per working day | about $3.7 billion | about $4.8 billion | 28.5% increase |