Wanna see real pain? KOSDAQ, South Korea's small-cap technology index, has collapsed, making the KOSPI selloff look almost tame by comparison.

With nearly 110 million active stock accounts, or around two for every citizen, the impact of 40% slide has been brutal

South Korea's roller-coaster stock market in July has prompted calls for tighter scrutiny of overly bullish brokerage research and stricter margin-lending rules