“The Glory” helps another school bullying case get spotlight

Pyo Ye-rim speaks about her experiences of being bullied at school. Screen captured from Pyo's YouTube account

By Kim Se-jeong

As the hit Netflix series “The Glory” rattles Korea with the issue of school bullying, many victims have come forward to share their ordeals.

One was a popular travel YouTuber, Kwak Joon-bin, who has a channel named KwakTube.

The latest is Pyo Ye-rim, a 28-year-old hairdresser and YouTuber, who is actively seeking justice for the violence she says she was subjected to.

Pyo's story was first made public last month through local TV stations ― MBC and JTBC ― reporting on her ordeals. She also tells her stories and shares her ordeals with her followers on YouTube.

The 28-year-old grew up in the town of Euiryeong, South Gyeongsang Province. The town was so small that she had the same classmates from elementary through high school which enabled the bullying to continue for 12 years by four classmates.

She said she was bullied because she was a quiet student. She was often physically assaulted by them ― she was even dragged to a restroom and had her head put in a toilet by force. Their language toward her was always abusive and disparaging and her refusal to respond was often met with violence.

Asked why she became a target, Pyo said the four seemed to have a lot of pent-up anger and she could have been an easy target because she was quiet and a loner.

The violence continued even in the presence of a teacher.

“In one incident, Pyo was called out by one of the four and began getting beaten during the class. A teacher was there, but didn't say anything,” one of her classmates said on a YouTube stream, raising a question about teachers turning a blind eye to school bullying. Teacher negligence was also raised in “The Glory.”

Asked why she didn't reach out to teachers for help, Pyo said she gave up on the idea after one bad incident early on.

“I told one teacher that I had been bullied. It took me great courage to open up. But all I received was questions which made me feel like it was my fault.”

Pyo's silence, together with the teachers' negligence, meant her parents were totally unaware of the ongoing tragedy involving their daughter.

As she seeks legal justice eight years after graduation, she is met with challenges.

Korean law does not consider the case worthy of review because the crimes are outside of the statute of limitations. Also, Pyo struggles with presenting verifiable evidence ― she did not keep records of her injuries and teachers refused to testify for her out of fear of being accused of negligence?― and threats from the perpetrators.

Scenes from "The Glory"/ Screen captured from Pyo's YouTube account

On Wednesday, unexpected help came from a person who claimed to be her classmate. The classmate created a YouTube account and identified all four perpetrators, with their old and recent pictures and workplaces ― one working in the military and another working as a hairdresser. The anonymous classmate reportedly said she had been motivated to help Pyo after watching “The Glory.”

“The Glory” made school bullying a topic of conversation among many people in Korea. That pushed the government to make policies that make bullying records visible when applying for college admission. It also promised more support measures for the victims.