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"I went all-in on Nvidia and now I can't sleep. I don't even want to look at Bitcoin."

On the afternoon of the 9th, at a Lotto retailer in Sanggye-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul. Despite sub-zero temperatures, long lines of people clutching cash instead of smartphones stretched out in front of the shop. Starting that day, Lotto mobile sales were allowed for the first time in 24 years, ushering in an era of "at-home purchases," but the fever for so-called "myeongdang" lucky spots remained as intense as ever. At this outlet alone, about 80,000 tickets are sold in a week, and 320,000 in a month. Thanks to its track record of producing 55 first-prize winners and 252 second-prize winners, nearby roads become paralyzed on weekends with lines of cars trying to buy tickets.

On the afternoon of the 6th, a long line of citizens waiting to buy lottery tickets stretched in front of a Lotto sales outlet inside the Express Bus Terminal in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Mobile Lotto purchases were allowed for the first time in 24 years, but the offline outlet known as a "lucky spot" continued to attract visitors. Park Hosu, Reporter

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People appear to be braving the cold and inconvenience instead of choosing the "easy mobile option" because they are hoping for the "energy of a myeongdang" lucky spot. Office worker Noh Taejin (45) said, "With mobile, I have this vague, inexplicable uneasiness that there might be some kind of manipulation," adding, "If I'm going to buy anyway, it only feels like it's really mine when I draw a paper ticket at a place known for good luck."

Another change evident on site was the influx of younger customers drawn by expectations surrounding these lucky spots. The "Lotto line," once considered the domain of middle-aged and older people, is now seeing large numbers from the 20s and 30s age group. A staff member at the outlet said, "We have seen a sharp increase in younger customers, and the purchase rate of 'Speetto' instant-scratch tickets, which let you check the result on the spot, has also risen rapidly."

A Lotto retailer in Sanggye-dong, Nowon-gu, Seoul has its history of past winners posted on the shop window. The shop is known as a Lotto hotspot after producing 55 first-prize winners and 252 second-prize winners. Park Hosu, Reporter

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Lotto mobile sales have made buying tickets more convenient for the first time in 24 years, yet foot traffic to offline lucky outlets remains unbroken. Observers say that behind the scenes of people enduring the cold and hassle to stand in line lies a sense of fatigue with asset markets and a psychological desire to rely on probabilities amid an uncertain future.

According to Donghaeng Lottery, the lottery operator, total lottery sales last year reached 6.7507 trillion won, the highest level on record. From 4.1538 trillion won in 2017, sales jumped 13% to the 5.4 trillion won range in 2020, the first year of COVID-19, and have set new records every year since. Paradoxically, the size of a "big score" has been shrinking. While sales have hit record highs, the increase in winners has pushed the after-tax first-prize payout down to about 1.4 billion won. There is a nearly fourfold gap between the public's idea of an appropriate prize amount, 5.22 billion won, and the actual payout.

The rush to so-called lottery lucky spots is seen as stemming from real-world anxieties. Choi Cheol, a professor of consumer economics at Sookmyung Women's University, said, "The reason there are more winners at these lucky outlets is simply because their sales volume is overwhelming; there is no connection between location and probability," adding, "People who feel they have no realistic alternatives are increasingly driven by a desire to cling to something."

Citizens are waiting their turn inside a lotto outlet. Photo by Park Hosu

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In particular, the rush of young people to these lucky outlets is rooted in a sense of despair about asset markets. Office worker Na (36), whom we met at a famed lucky spot inside the Express Bus Terminal in Seocho-gu, Seoul, said, "After losing my monthly salary on coins, all I was left with was a sense of emptiness," adding, "Stocks can go against you even if you study them, but Lotto's simplicity of 'either nothing or a win' is oddly comforting."

Yang Joonmo, an economics professor at Yonsei University, defines this as a "paradox of buying risk." He said, "Ordinary people traditionally spend money to avoid risk, but now we are in the paradoxical situation where they are paying money to buy probability," and added, "With real estate prices far too high, and with stocks and coins instilling fear that you could lose a lot of money, the public is being pushed into the trap of 'small-stake, high-risk' bets."

A newsstand in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Heo Younghan

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