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Kim Sun-mee, a mother of two in her 40s, said she buys lottery tickets every once in a while when she goes grocery shopping.

“The thought of me winning the lottery makes me forget — however brief it may be — about how I have to push through every day just to make ends meet.”

Her husband makes a decent living in an office job.

But she cannot remember the last time she bought something just to enjoy herself — let alone a vacation even for a couple of days.

“I have two children to feed and clothe. It's not that what I buy every day is expensive, but the overall cost of living has soared and is staying that way for too long. I always find myself constantly worrying about money. And then I think: ‘wouldn't this all go away if I won the lottery?'”

She and her husband took out a mortgage on a floating rate, and the monthly interest has surged in the years since the COVID-19 pandemic.

“When the interest rate went down at the beginning of the pandemic, we thought we could breathe. But years after that was just all about paying interest that jumped every month for I don't remember how long. And then there was inflation. Simply putting food on the table and having a roof over our head was a challenge," Kim said.

Similarly, a 20-something man surnamed Jang, said he buys about five 1,000 won lottery tickets about every two or three weeks.

“I buy them on Sunday hoping that I may win like everybody else. That is the only sure source of hope for the next couple of days until Saturday when the winners are announced," Jang said.

The university graduate has yet to find a job. He has tried several affiliates of the country's large conglomerates. Some of them had interviews, but didn't give a final notice of employment.

“I was not at the top of my school, but was in the 30 percentile give or take. I hear how people always say landing a job is difficult these days. But blaming circumstances can only motivate me so far. Then I read the news that some kindergarteners are gifted billions of won from their parents and grandparents, and I end up thinking the only way for me to have that kind of money is if I win the lottery," he said.

Kim and Jang are among many driving lottery ticket sales in Korea.

According to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, lottery sales in the first six months of this year came to 4.25 trillion won ($3.3 billion), up 26 percent from the previous year and 62 percent from 2020.

A similar figure in the second half of the year will translate to an annual figure well exceeding the ministry's 2024 target of 7.29 trillion won.

The January-June sales figure for lottery tickets first topped 3 trillion won in 2022, up steadily from 2.62 trillion won in 2020.

Nearly 70 percent was sold online, followed by printed tickets.

Lottery winners will be able to claim a combined 2.26 trillion won this year, up 30.1 percent from last year's 1.74 trillion won.

Korea sells about 110 million tickets every week valid for the following week's draw.

About 12 winners get first place on average, individually netting around 2.1 billion won each.

They will claim the cash remaining after a withholding tax is deducted.

A tax rate of 22 percent will be applied for those winning between 2 million won and 300 million won.

The figure will climb to 33 percent for people who win over 300 million won.

About two-thirds of sales proceeds are used to provide financial assistance for low-income groups, people with disabilities and ex-convicts with housing, job training and scholarships among other social safety net programs.

Around half are claimed by ticket winners and the remaining 7 percent are used for advertising and other expenses.