The JPY/KRW exchange rate on March 13, 2026, stands at 9.362154771670768, marking a notable daily gain of +0.431%. This upward movement means the Japanese Yen (JPY) strengthened against the South Korean Won (KRW), or conversely, the KRW weakened. The drivers for this change were attributed 74% to the JPY and 26% to the KRW, indicating the JPY's strength was the dominant factor in the day's move.

Economic Context and Drivers Recent regional developments show both the JPY and KRW have faced depreciation pressure against a strengthening US Dollar, fueled by heightened geopolitical tensions and surging oil prices, leading Japan and South Korea to jointly signal readiness to act against excessive volatility. While the Bank of Korea (BOK) has maintained a cautious monetary policy stance, keeping its base rate steady amid concerns over inflation and financial stability, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) has been signaling a potentially more aggressive path toward policy tightening due to persistent inflation and yen weakness. This divergence in central bank postures, particularly regarding interest rate differentials and the ongoing external environment, likely underpins the stronger performance of the JPY relative to the KRW on this day.

Mid/Long-term Trends and Volatility Looking at the medium to long term, the JPY/KRW pair shows a consistent downtrend. Over the past week, the rate fell by -0.45%, with a relatively low volatility (SD) of 0.35% and an efficiency of 0.31, suggesting a slightly choppy but slightly negative underlying trend. The 6-month trend is also negative, with a -0.51% change. Crucially, the efficiency here drops to a very low 0.01, indicating the price action over the last six months has been highly choppy or directionless, despite the small net loss. Over the full year, the pair has seen a significant drop of -4.67%, ranging from a low of 9.1101 to a high of 10.2190. The 1-year efficiency of 0.04 further confirms that the long-term movement, despite the large overall decline, has been characterized by substantial market choppiness rather than a clean, unidirectional trend. The higher 1-year volatility (SD 0.63%) compared to the 1-week figure supports the view of greater price instability over the longer horizon.