It is hard for me to relate with the cut-throat culture of many Asian countries, but every time I read articles like these - it strikes me that there are a lot

It is hard for me to relate with the cut-throat culture of many Asian countries, but every time I read articles like these - it strikes me that there are a lot of very smart and very hard-working people in said Asian countries - but many of them simply can not afford to luxury of following their passion - even after getting accepted to some prestigious school, because the goal is to maximize ROI. Then again, I'm from a wealthy western country with practically zero poverty and little classism - so what seems to me like a total rat race, and lots of wasted talent, is probably perfectly normal to others. So you end up with people that are probably smart and drive, but still seek out BS like this - just to get ahead of the competition.