In this photo taken on March 29, 2023, South Korean hairdresser Pyo Ye-rim sweeps the floor of her hair salon during an interview with AFP in Busan. Pins hidden in her shoes, head forced down a toilet, kicked in the stomach: Korean hairdresser Pyo Ye-rim suffered a litany of abuse from school bullies, but now she鈥檚 speaking out. AFP
BUSAN 鈥� Pins hidden in her shoes, head forced down a toilet, kicked in the stomach: Korean hairdresser Pyo Ye-rim suffered a litany of abuse from school bullies, but now she鈥檚 speaking out.
The 26-year-old is part of a phenomenon sweeping South Korea known as 鈥淗akpok #MeToo鈥�, where people who were bullied publicly name and shame the perpetrators of school violence 鈥� 鈥渉akpok鈥� in Korean 鈥� decades after the alleged crimes.
Made famous globally by Netflix鈥檚 gory revenge series 鈥淭he Glory鈥�, the movement has ensnared聽everyone from K-pop stars to baseball players, and accusations 鈥� often anonymous 鈥� can be career-ending, with widespread public sympathy for victims.
As a schoolgirl, Pyo says she suffered alone. Teachers told her 鈥渢o be friendlier鈥� to her bullies and the abuse went unchecked for years, eventually forcing her to give up her dreams of higher education and quit school for vocational training.
鈥淭here was only one thing I wished for. I wished someone could help me,鈥� she told AFP, adding that no one came to her aid and eventually she 鈥渆scaped and struggled to survive on my own.鈥�
In education-obsessed South Korea, where children can spend up to 16 hours a day studying at schools and in private academies, bullying is widespread, experts say, despite official efforts to stamp it out.
The problem, activists say, is that bullying often goes unpunished in real-time at schools, and the statute of limitations on such crimes makes it hard for victims to bring charges years later.
Pyo said she suffered from years of insomnia and depression as a result of her treatment at school, before deciding to stop hiding and go public with her accusations 鈥� resulting in one of her bullies being fired from their job.
But Pyo is lobbying for real legal change, demanding South Korea suspend the statute of limitations affecting school violence and change the defamation law to better protect victims.
Hakpok #MeToo
Netflix鈥檚 鈥淭he Glory鈥� 鈥� which follows a woman鈥檚 meticulously planned revenge scheme after suffering years of brutal abuse from high school bullies 鈥� helped amplify South Korea鈥檚 national discussion about bullying.
In an ironic sign of how pervasive the issue is, after the show became a hit, the director Ahn Gil-ho was himself accused of teenage bullying and forced to apologize.
Even South Korea鈥檚 presidential office was recently forced to withdraw a top police appointment after it emerged the candidate鈥檚 son had bullied classmates, sparking public backlash.
School violence is endemic in South Korean schools, Noh Yoon-ho, a Seoul-based attorney who specializes in bullying cases told AFP, adding it is a 鈥渃ollective trauma鈥� the country needs to process.
鈥淎ny South Korean who has gone to school has been a victim or witnessed other students being bullied and not helped 鈥� we all have memories of this,鈥� Noh said.
The 鈥淗akpok #MeToo鈥� movement has helped many victims to shed the shame of their experience, and realise they were not bullied 鈥渂ecause they were lacking something鈥�, she added.
But the problem is that there is still no system in place at school level where victims can 鈥渁pproach without hesitation for an immediate and adequate response when incidents occur鈥�,聽Jihoon聽Kim, a criminology professor who has researched bullying in South Korea, told AFP.
Punish the bullies?
Pyo and other victims say South Korea should remove the statute of limitations on school violence so bullies can be held accountable even decades later.
But there are huge practical issues with legally punishing聽adults for crimes committed as a juvenile, Noh said, which could give people lasting criminal records for teenage misdeeds.
Pyo is also calling for an overhaul of South Korea鈥檚 criminal defamation laws, which currently allow bullies to sue their accusers for damages and win 鈥� even if their victims are telling the truth.
Most accusations are anonymous but have resulted in bullies being fired or, in the case of one of South Korea鈥檚 most successful baseball players, excluded from the national team.
Despite widespread public support for victims, some have questioned the fairness of such punishments.
It would be far better to work with schools 鈥� where such crimes have typically been ignored 鈥� to ensure that bullying is addressed as it happens, experts say.
Unless this is done, the public naming and shaming will continue.
鈥淚t鈥檚 gotten this bad because no victims have done it before now,鈥� said Pyo, adding that unless the defamation law changes, bullies can still threaten victims with lawsuits.
鈥淭his is why no one is able to talk,鈥� except anonymously, she said. 鈥淚f this law disappears, countless victims will start speaking out.鈥�
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