Even after taking early retirement from a securities firm, Bongbong never left the markets. A seasoned trader with extensive experience in futures and options, he only recently discovered prop trading.
Having survived a arena where months of gains can vanish in a single misstep costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, why does this veteran trader call prop trading "a truly attractive choice"? Here is his candid story.

Q. Hello! Please introduce yourself along with your nickname. When people ask what you do, how do you explain your trading?

A. My nickname is Bongbong. Since I took early retirement from a securities firm, everyone around me already knows I trade. I mainly traded futures and options. Prop trading was something I only discovered recently, so when I explain the concept to people around me, it is still unfamiliar to most.

Q. Did you anticipate this Payout, or was it a surprise?

A. Receiving a Payout is always an exciting and grateful moment.

I Lost Hundreds of Thousands in My Personal Account

Q. Before discovering prop trading, did you ever experience severe losses in your personal account?

A. I blew hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal accounts. In this game, even after months of consistent profits, a single mistake can wipe out everything. That gave me both genuine respect and deep experience with market risk. In that sense, prop trading—which provides built-in downside protection—is a truly attractive option for me.

Q. Looking at your performance review, your edge lies in scaling in and scaling out rather than taking large, one-shot entries. How did you develop this approach?

A. You cannot nail the perfect entry every single time. If you trade daily, your trade frequency is naturally higher, which means you inevitably get caught in bad spots. When that happens, you have three choices: cut the loss, scale down your average price, or hold and endure. If you go all-in with your available capital on a single entry, you immediately throw away your options.

That is why I prefer sending out small probe orders with minimal risk, assessing market conditions, and then deciding whether to add to the position or step aside. Scaling works best for me.

Q. You started your first trading day with a loss, but rebounded the very next day with a flawless 11-0 winning streak. What adjusted overnight?

A. When you first get a Funded Account, greed kicks in to hit your profit targets quickly and request a Payout. That greed bleeds into your execution. The next day, I reset my mindset and committed to stacking small gains and taking it slow. That shift positively impacted my execution—along with a bit of favorable market action and luck, of course.

Q. Your win rate around 4:00 AM was exceptionally high. Is there a specific reason you trade during that window?

A. In both the Korean and US sessions, volatility peaks at the open, followed by the market close. The closing stretch often provides clearer directional momentum, which aligned well with my setup.

Attitude Toward Money

Q. Has trading changed your perspective on money?

A. I have found myself thinking more than once that instead of spending money on drinks, I would rather open another LifeUp account.

Q. Which do you consider more critical for a trader: risk management or taking profit?

A. In this business, even a retail neighbor who got lucky buying SK Hynix might lecture you on trading because of their paper gains. In the end, performance is the only metric that matters, and until you deliver, you have to stay humble. Especially in prop trading, strong performance requires disciplined risk management before any profits can materialize. Both are indispensable.

Q. Having gone through the journey from Evaluation to receiving a Payout, what are the honest pros and cons of LifeUp?

A. I occasionally check prop trading forums, and many traders share feedback on LifeUp. I am glad we have LifeUp leading the Korean prop trading space. The responsive customer support, clean UI, and strong reputation build genuine trust. As for drawbacks, many mention the 7 minimum trading days and trading pauses during account reviews, haha.

Q. Finally, what is your next goal?

A. Looking back at my biggest losses, they always occurred when I became overly confident, tried to revenge trade, or went on tilt.

My goal is to trade completely free of emotion—always staying disciplined, sticking to my defined edge, and executing flexibly in an ever-changing market. Confident enough to let my performance speak for itself!

An interview with a veteran trader who learned firsthand—through hundreds of thousands in tuition paid to the market—that luck means nothing and long-term results are the only truth.
Strip away emotion, stay calm, and adapt flexibly to the market. With this disciplined mindset, it is clear how he has sustained longevity in the game. LifeUpTrading will continue supporting his continued success.