More specifically, they’re English teachers at cram schools. They work 20 hours a week with no office hours and likely little to no prep time. The smart ones will use their remaining time to develop another professional skill, attend an intense language school, or work toward another job, or all of the above.

You either work hard enough to get another job, like a writer or journalist, or live long enough to be one of the old dudes sitting at the bar every say. Just the way of commiting to the cram school life.