[Rider Economy] Sweat Dripping Just 5 Minutes After Starting Delivery... Worked 7 Hours and Earned 40,000 Won

Our Reporter Tries Rider Experience... Delivery of 'Blood, Sweat, and Tears'
Earning About 39,000 Won... Equivalent to 6,000 Won, Below Minimum Wage
Deployed After 1-2 Hours of Online Training... Side Job as a Walk Misjudged
Over 1km Per Delivery... Actual Travel Time Around 30 Minutes
Eyes Fixed on Phone... Risk of Accidents Present

Our reporter Lee Jun-hyung is making a walking delivery near Sillim Station in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, using Baemin Connect from Baedal Minjok.
Photo by Song Seung-seop

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Junhyung] From the very first delivery, I had to pass through the steep hill roads of the residential area in Seowon-dong, Gwanak-gu, Seoul. On the 13th, when I jumped into the rider experience, the temperature in Seoul reached 30 degrees Celsius. Carrying a bag with hot soup made me sweat nonstop. My speed was slower than usual walking, and my stamina was inevitably drained more.

Meanwhile, the rider application (app) notified me that the pickup time was 2 minutes late. I felt rushed. Wiping the sweat dripping down my face, I started running up the stairs. As soon as I barely finished the delivery and turned around, the alarm rang again. I checked the address and searched for the route. Oops, it was another ‘ddong call.’ ‘Ddong call’ is rider slang referring to routes with steep hills or many traffic signals. According to riders, these calls are usually assigned to foot delivery workers, who are generally given calls that full-time riders avoid. Foot delivery workers, who have a limited range of order choices, mainly take these calls.

The food delivery market saw tremendous benefits from COVID-19. The spread of non-face-to-face services acted as a catalyst, leading to explosive growth of more than double last year alone, and the industry expects this growth trend to continue for a considerable period. The market expansion has produced unicorn companies (unlisted companies valued at over $1 billion). The market growth has also led to fierce competition, ushering in the ‘delivery Warring States period.’ Riders (delivery workers) have emerged as a new occupational group, and their numbers are increasing significantly every year.

Food delivery riders can be broadly categorized into motorcycle riders, bicycle/kickboard riders, and foot delivery services. Motorcycles require a license and have relatively complex registration procedures, but bicycles, kickboards, and foot delivery require only a simple registration process followed by 1-2 hours of online safety training to register as a rider. The only necessary equipment is an insulated bag to store the food.

Our reporter Lee Junhyung is making a walking delivery near Bongcheon Station in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, using Baemin Connect from Baedal Minjok.
Photo by Song Seungseop

Eyes glued to phone... stepping onto crosswalk at red light

The risk of accidents could not be ruled out. Throughout the delivery, I couldn’t take my eyes off the phone. To avoid getting lost and to not be late, I had to constantly check the app map, which showed the most efficient route and remaining time. Because of this, near the crowded Sillim Station, I often bumped into pedestrians. I narrowly avoided personal mobility devices like kickboards passing by on footpaths. There was even a time I stepped onto a crosswalk without realizing the light had turned red. Meanwhile, the app kept sending notifications.

Once a delivery assignment was accepted, it could not be canceled. If canceled, both the delivery worker and the customer could be in a difficult situation if the delivery was interrupted due to an accident or other reasons. Around 6:30 p.m., I accepted the ninth order but mistakenly headed to the delivery address instead of the pickup location. It was like going to the customer without the ordered food. The house was located on a steep hill. The app already showed a notification that the pickup time was 3 minutes overdue. Returning to the pickup location would likely double the estimated delivery time given to the customer. When I inquired through the app’s customer center about reassigning the delivery to another rider, the control center responded, “Orders for which cooking has started at the restaurant cannot be canceled,” and advised, “Please be careful when selecting the next delivery assignment.”

A regular delivery worker is resting at the entrance of Baedal Minjok 'B Mart' located near Sillim Station in Gwanak-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Joonhyung Lee]

Hourly wage around 6,000 won... maximum two orders per hour

Except for two hours at noon, I delivered for about seven hours and noticed many ‘fellow’ delivery workers. There were full-time riders as well as general delivery workers using services like Baemin Connect, just like me. Especially in the residential areas with many hills, I frequently encountered general delivery workers. Their modes of transport varied, including bicycles and kickboards. Some were sitting by the roadside taking a short break. Near Sillim Station, I met a delivery worker carrying the same insulated bag in a store restroom. They were all soaked in sweat, just like me.

The related website introduces foot delivery models, all of whom have relaxed and leisurely expressions. They described foot delivery as “light and easy to do” and said, “Retired seniors can do it as a side job while taking a walk.” So, as a person in my late 20s, I experienced foot delivery through Baemin Connect and Coupang Eats from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on the 13th. Within five minutes of starting, my clothes were soaked with sweat, and by the end of the day, I had blisters on both feet.

Our reporter Lee Jun-hyung is making a walking delivery near Bongcheon Station in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, using Baemin Connect from Baedal Minjok.
[Photo by Song Seung-seop]

The deliveries were made near Gwanak-gu, Seoul, where there is a high demand for foot delivery due to many single-person households. In total, I completed 11 deliveries and earned 38,847 won. Arithmetically, the hourly wage was about 6,000 won, approximately 70% of this year’s minimum wage of 8,720 won. After deducting expenses for meals and drinks during the delivery, the take-home pay was about 25,000 won. In terms of earnings alone, it was far below typical part-time jobs.

There was a rumor that it was hard to get ‘calls (orders)’ for foot delivery, but even on a weekday (Thursday), assignments came steadily. This was partly because I delivered in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, where many single-person households live and where Baemin’s ‘B Mart’ is located. However, after meal times, most Baemin Connect assignments were B Mart orders. During the same period, Coupang Eats sent ‘calls’ about once or twice per hour. Delivery fees were around 3,000 won per order during lunch and about 3,500 won during dinner. Each order took about 30 minutes on average. Considering breaks, at most two orders could be handled per hour. This explains why my earnings were far from the hourly average income of 15,000 won stated on Baemin Connect’s website.

A hillside residential area in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, where our reporter Junhyung Lee made a walking delivery.
Photo by Junhyung Lee

Various variables like hills... app does not consider them

Besides earnings, there were various other issues. Foot delivery, like delivery using vehicles, is a ‘race against time.’ When a call appears, a notification sound rings, and the estimated time can be checked. The app’s estimated time is usually 20-30 minutes. This time is set as 5-10 minutes to pick up the items at the restaurant or pickup location and 10-20 minutes to reach the final destination. The distance from my location to the pickup point and then to the delivery address was usually within 1 to 1.5 km. Walking briskly on flat ground, the actual travel time does not deviate much from the estimated time. However, the app does not account for variables like waiting at traffic signals or steep hills.

According to Statistics Korea and others, the transaction amount for online shopping mall food services (delivery) increased from 9.73 trillion won in 2019 to 17.33 trillion won last year. The payment amount for Baemin and Yogiyo, the top two in the industry, was 12.2008 trillion won last year, more than triple the 3.9287 trillion won in 2018.

With the increase in non-face-to-face and digital transactions due to the COVID-19 pandemic last year, delivery demand surged. An industry insider said, “During peak times like lunch and dinner, the number of food delivery orders nationwide exceeds about 200,000,” adding, “If ‘single-order delivery’ continues to be popular like now, 100,000 delivery workers will be needed in one hour.” According to Statistics Korea’s regional employment survey, the number of delivery workers was 390,000 as of the second half of last year. This figure includes parcel and mail carriers. The industry estimates the number of riders delivering only food, excluding parcel and mail carriers, to be 315,000 (as of last year).

Compared to the flood of delivery orders, riders are in short supply. As the market growth accelerates and rider shortages occur, delivery apps are actively recruiting general delivery workers. Baemin’s ‘Baemin Connect’ and GS Retail’s ‘Our Neighborhood Delivery (Udeal)’ offer foot delivery services that anyone can easily participate in. Baemin Connect had about 11,000 riders at the end of 2019 but exceeded 50,000 last year, and Udeal has about 70,000 registered delivery workers.