I know him betting that much seems like an outrageous sum of money, but remember...the author is Korean. 1,000 won (Korean currency) equals less than 1 US dollar. So 40 million SEEMS like a crazy amount to spent on a ring, but if we factor in how much that's worth in Korean sensibilities, the bid was actually worth around 30,000 USD.
Still a lot of money, but much more reasonable, don't you think? XD