Korean Stocks You Can Buy on US Exchanges: The ADR List

KOREASTOCKCHECK MAGAZINE · UPDATED AUGUST 2026

You don't always need a Korean brokerage connection to own a Korean company. A short list of them trade on the NYSE and Nasdaq as American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), in dollars, during US hours. The list is short, it changed in a big way in 2026, and the fine print trips people up.

Listed on NYSE / Nasdaq (verified August 2026)

The 2026 headline is SK Hynix. The AI-memory maker at the center of the KOSPI's historic run completed one of the largest US equity offerings ever and the largest US share sale by a foreign company at the time in July 2026. Note the ratio: one ADR represents a tenth of a Seoul-listed share.

What about Samsung Electronics?

The one everyone asks about is the one that isn't there. Samsung Electronics has no US exchange listing. Its depositary receipts trade in London (GDR: SMSN), and in the US only over the counter as SSNLF, an unsponsored ticker with thin liquidity and wide spreads (why those OTC tickers drift from the Seoul price). For most US investors, practical Samsung exposure means a Korea ETF, the London GDR, or a broker with direct KRX access (see our broker guide). Hyundai Motor is similar: OTC only (HYMTF).

The fine print on ADRs

• Coverage is narrow. Nine names on US exchanges versus ~2,700 companies on the KRX. Everything mid-cap and below, where most of Korea's action is, has no ADR.
• Ratios differ. An ADR can equal 1 share, half a share, or a tenth (SKHY). Compare prices per underlying share, not per ticker.
• OTC is not an exchange listing. Unsponsored OTC tickers (SSNLF, HYMTF) can have minimal volume and stale quotes.
• Same company, same filings. An ADR doesn't shield you from what happens in Seoul. Dilution, sanctions and delisting risk flow through from the Korean listing, announced in Korean on DART.

Listings verified August 2026 against exchange and company sources; listings change, so confirm with your broker. Educational content, not investment advice; no recommendation of any security is made or implied.