There are two things that inspired me to talk about this topic today.
One is a Chinese PhD delivering food; the other is young South Koreans flocking to cryptocurrency exchanges out of desperation.
These two scenes seem to have nothing to do with each other, but like two mirrors, they reflect the dilemma of the same group - young people, torn between two extremes.
Let’s first talk about the young people who deliver food in China.
There is nothing shameful about delivering food, but when a doctor with a high degree has to rely on being a rider to make a living, it becomes an irony of the times. Ding Yuanzhao, who has been widely reported by the media, is a microcosm of this group of people. He is a doctor with a higher education, but because of the reality, he finally chose to wear a rider vest and joined the "highly educated food delivery army" running between cities.
He is not an isolated case.
China now has more than 7.45 million Meituan riders, of which hundreds of thousands have college degrees or above, and tens of thousands have master's degrees. Meituan officials disclosed in 2022 that 29% of riders have college degrees or above, and Meituan also recruits more than 5,000 fresh graduates every year to fill rider positions (Source: Caixin Global).
Let’s learn more about the young Koreans who are keen on cryptocurrency trading.
In South Korea, there are more than 16 million real-name registered crypto trading accounts, accounting for one-third of the country's total population. In the first half of 2023, the price of Bitcoin in South Korea was once 12% higher than the global average, forming the "Kimchi Premium" known in the industry.
According to Cointelegraph, the emergence of this premium is not accidental in the market, but a typical product of the influx of a large number of retail investors trying to "get rich overnight". The "enthusiasm" of the new generation of Korean users for cryptocurrencies is actually more like desperation:
As returns from traditional channels become lower and lower, young people are beginning to prefer high-risk and high-volatility assets as a breakthrough.
Young people in these two countries seem to be on different paths, one is delivering food by bike, and the other is watching the market and speculating in cryptocurrencies, but in fact, they are trapped by the same problem:
Resource allocation is unbalanced, the upward channel is narrowing, and the actual pressure is increasing sharply.
Let’s look at the source of this dilemma in more detail.
1. Real dilemma
From a macro perspective, the plight of contemporary young people is often not due to personal laziness or lack of ability, but rather to the changes in the economic structure of the entire era. They grew up in the golden age of rapid development, but when they really entered society, they hit the ceiling of growth. The question they face is no longer "how to climb faster", but "how not to be thrown off the train".
The source of all this can be traced back to the slowdown in economic growth.
1.1 Shifting gears and stalling of economic growth
South Korea's GDP per capita reached a historical high in 2021 and then entered a plateau period. According to the World Bank, the growth rate in 2022 and 2023 has been lower than the global average. At the same time, the unemployment rate of South Korean youth (15-29 years old) has long remained at around 6.6%, which is twice the national overall unemployment rate, showing the structural difficulties faced by the youth group.
The situation in China is even more serious. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate of non-school youth aged 16-24 in China rose to 21.3% in 2023. In 2024, this data was "suspended from publication", which aroused great public concern. As of May 2025, the unemployment rate was still as high as 14.9% (Source: Reuters).
Unemployment itself is not the most terrible part - what is really despairing is that you cannot find a job that matches your education background and skills for a long time. When there is a huge gap between "the jobs you can find" and "the prospects promised by education", young people can easily fall into a "sense of idleness": having education, but no way out; working hard, but no reward.
1.2 Severe squeeze on housing prices
Housing, once the starting point of life, has now become the ceiling that crushes young people.
In South Korea, the housing price-to-income ratio (PIR) in Seoul is about 15, which means that a young person would have to work for 15 years without eating or drinking to be able to buy his own house (Source: Numbeo). In China, this ratio is much higher than this - the PIR of first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai has exceeded 34, which is at an extreme level among major economies in the world.
The OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) currently has 38 member countries, covering the world's most developed and representative market economies. Under its statistical caliber, the average PIR of member countries is generally between 7 and 10. However, the level of China's first-tier cities is over 30, which is far away from the international affordable range, indicating that the threshold for young people to buy houses is extremely abnormal.
The reality is cruel: among the buildings in the city, young people are increasingly like "outside residents" without ownership. They can't afford to buy, nor dare to rent for a long time; they don't belong, nor can they escape.
1.3 Rapidly declining returns to education
The belief that "knowledge changes destiny" is being repeatedly challenged by reality.
Over the past two decades, the expansion of higher education in China has pushed higher education toward universalization. In 2000, the number of college students nationwide was only 2.2 million, but by 2025, this number had exceeded 10.5 million, an increase of nearly five times. However, the explosive growth of education has not brought about a corresponding increase in returns.
According to data released by the Ministry of Education, the median annual salary of undergraduate graduates has remained between 60,000 and 80,000 yuan for many years. In first-tier cities, this is not even enough to cover basic rent and living expenses. The income level of a large number of majors is seriously out of balance with the opportunity cost during school.
More importantly, the marginal value of education has declined. According to research by Hanushek, an education economist at Stanford University, the income premium of a bachelor's degree has dropped from 15% at the end of the last century to 8-10% today compared to a high school degree. This means that the effectiveness of the "social pass" carried by the diploma is rapidly depreciating. When "education" is no longer scarce, it loses its function of screening and empowerment and becomes just an ordinary label.
To sum up in one sentence: for many young people, education is no longer a handrail to climb over the ladder of destiny, but a preset ticket to job search platforms. Having it does not mean you can change your life; without it, you can't even get in the door.
2. The inevitable choice
It’s not that young people don’t work hard, nor do they refuse to be down-to-earth. They are just trapped in a cruel reality paradox:
The harder you work, the easier it is to fall into low-value repetitive work; the more you persist, the harder it is to break through the boundaries set by the system.
2.1 The end of "6 yuan per order" is an invisible future
In the streets and alleys of China, riders have become the most basic "muscle tissue" of the platform economy. They shuttle between the gaps in the city, measure the distance of 3 kilometers for each order with their feet, and exchange their time for a reward of 6 yuan for each order. Their work is precisely divided into indicators such as "delivery within 20 minutes", "customer praise", and "completion rate reaching the target" by algorithms, and all behaviors are quantified, scored, and ranked.
They rely on completing orders, increasing order volume, and boosting sales, but it is difficult for them to accumulate any social capital, transferable skills, or career advancement channels - no matter how fast they deliver, they cannot transfer to the platform's operations or algorithm departments.
Their "efforts" are reset to zero every day and never turn into "compound interest."
2.2 "High leverage" is a bet on fate, not market conditions
In South Korea, young people embrace cryptocurrency not because of their belief in technology, but out of a deep sense of economic despair. They know clearly that saving for a down payment with salary is a fantasy, starting a business requires a threshold, and if they can't get to the top with the exam paper, then there is only one option left - betting.
The high leverage products provided by crypto exchage can turn a $1,000 position into $10,000 or vanish in a day. Screenshots of "+$5,000 USD deposited" and "50% surge today" are everywhere in Korean crypto communities and Telegram groups, sticking to the screens of every frustrated young person like visual toxins.
They don’t really believe in blockchain, they just don’t see a way to “get on board” through conventional means. So they bet their fate on a highly volatile asset, even if the probability of success is only one in a thousand, they are willing to give it a try.
This is not speculation, this is desperate faith.
They used capital, emotions and trust to fill a black hole that structurally lacked an upward channel.
2.3 Young people without compound interest
What is more dangerous than unemployment is the loss of the ability to compound interest. Both manual labor and high-risk gambling lack the basis for "accumulation". They do not provide positive feedback and have no long-term curve.
Takeout food delivery relies on physical strength, cryptocurrency trading relies on emotions, returns rely on luck, but risks are borne by individuals alone. Platforms and exchanges appear to be neutral, but in fact they use algorithms and rules as control tools, turning every participant into "fuel for the operation of the algorithm" - being absorbed and used, but without the right to distribute value.
Takeout is squeezed liquidity; cryptocurrency speculation is ignited liquidity.
Although these two seem to be poles apart, they are reflections of the same mechanism:
They all contribute traffic and volatility at the edge of the system, but never have the qualifications to share profits within the system.
It’s not that they are not good enough, but that the institutional structure hinders their path to advancement.
So, do young people really have no way out? Of course not. The only way out is not between these two "pseudo options", but to jump out of the entire misleading structure and find a path of accumulation that truly belongs to you.
3. Breakthrough begins with an upgrade in cognition
Breaking the impasse is not impossible, but it requires a profound reconstruction of cognition.
In this algorithm-driven, structured age, if you want to get out of trouble, you can no longer just keep spinning in circles along the path designed for you by the system.
3.1 Understand that a diploma is not a sunk cost, but a basic asset with an "option attached"
It may no longer be scarce and no longer directly cash in value, but it is still the lowest threshold for you to enter new platforms, new industries, and new markets. What really determines the value of this diploma is not its own halo, but whether you are willing to take the initiative to exercise that "option to relearn."
The return on investment in education has shifted from "one-time cash out" to "continuous transformation" - only by constantly reshaping the knowledge structure and constantly jumping out of the familiar range, the diploma will not rot in the resume, but can truly be transformed into opportunities.
3.2 Bet on the skill path of "compounding × transferability"
Don’t expect that one exam, one recruitment, or one offer can determine your life. This is a road to illusion. The new reality requires you to iterate yourself every 6 months.
AI tool applications, data analysis, Web3 security, cross-border remote collaboration capabilities, video expression capabilities... These fields all have three common characteristics:
Short learning curve (3–6 months to master)
Skills are transferable (can be applied to multiple platforms and industries)
The market premium is obvious (scarce positions are being competed for)
Today, when the "education premium" has collapsed, the compound interest of a combination of abilities is the new social pass.
3.3 Start building cross-cycle asset allocation capabilities
You don’t need to be an investment expert, but you must have the basic means to resist the cycle. After leaving enough living expenses, choose assets with long-term scarcity for low-frequency fixed investment - such as Bitcoin.
This is an anchor against inflation and a starting point for breaking the habit of "living on wages alone". It is not gambling, but a defensive behavior that transcends local economic cycles and establishes asset independence.
I have written a more detailed strategy in "Bitcoin, the Ultimate Hedge Plan for Long-termists". It is a personal financial structure that is independent of the platform and decoupled from the market, and is a "backup plan" for the future.
3.4 The most important thing - stop entrusting your life to any platform UI
Don’t let the pop-up window of “Complete 30 orders and get 150 yuan reward” control your time, and don’t let the market push of “BTC breaks through 110,000” control your emotions. Those UIs and notifications are not informing you, but training you.
True freedom means that you still have the ability to operate and make judgments independently during the 48 hours when the platform crashes and the market is interrupted.
Life is not a racing game that relies on swiping orders or betting on price increases, but a compound interest curve that can be designed by yourself and accumulated over a long period of time. The starting point of this curve begins with cognitive awakening.
Conclusion: Not to be defined, but to define
Chinese actor Wang Baoqiang has walked from the countryside to the spotlight, from a minor role to a director. He has never relied on being "selected", but on investing his time in worthwhile things for a long time. He has no shortcuts, only choices - he did not chase the hot track, but continued to do those things that seem insignificant but can compound interest. He did not have the destiny of becoming famous overnight, but he walked out of a track that can be used repeatedly.
This is exactly what countless young people today lack:
It’s not the academic qualifications, it’s not the capital, it’s the sense of direction.
What is worth doing day after day? What ability can go through cycles and quietly accumulate chips for you?
Choice determines whether you will be consumed by the system;
Persistence determines whether you can eventually break out of the system.
American writer Vivian Greene said:
Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass; it's about learning to dance in the rain.
Although this sentence is simple, it hits the heart directly. It does not talk about idealism, nor does it comfort you that the storm will eventually pass. It just reminds you:
The world won't get better, but you can get stronger.
Don't wait for the "platform system" to design your destiny, and don't pin your hopes on a single market or opportunity. The real power comes from whether you are willing to build something of your own in the most chaotic times and the darkest days.
Start today, with an active choice, even if it's just reading one more page of a book, learning one more skill, or recording one more observation.
Whatever you create, no matter how big or small, is your hand extending to destiny.
The storm will come again. Even if the roof leaks and the ground is muddy, we must build our own stage.
Then dance in the rain.
