It's good to be the Kims

above: The makers of the movie Inception probably had to buy a few Hyundai Genesis models, which was good for Hyundai's bottom line. 

T'is a fine time to be invested in one of South Korea's automakers. Hyundai has just announced that its second-quarter profits soared 71 percent to $1.2 billion, while Kia posted a profit of $471 million for the same period, a 61 percent increase over the previous year.

Meanwhile, Samsung boasted an increase of 83 percent, for $3.61 million. This new record comes on the heels of a new record last quarter as well.

But it's not all sunshine and lollipops. Unlike its fellow chaebol, LG is not living large, with its electronics division earning a profit of only $722.4 million (only!), which is a 33 percent drop over the previous year.

Economists attribute these successes to people buying lots of stuff.