The Real Case That Inspired The Bullying Scene In “The Glory” Resurfaces, Netizens Call Out Injustice

Netflix’s original series The Glory is racking up rave reviews from both critics and viewers just a few days into its release. The Song Hye Kyo-starrer is a spine-chilling revenge thriller that follows the journey of Moon Dong Eun as she seeks revenge on her high school bullies.

Though bullying is a condemnable act everywhere, the word carries a different weightage in South Korea. It is not rare for school children to get subjected to extreme violence with almost no consequence faced by the perpetrators. The Glory depicts that harsh reality very graphically. Apart from severe psychological and sexual assault, Moon Dong Eun’s bullies also repeatedly burn her body with a hair curler and an iron, leaving her body covered with wounds.

Despite reporting the incidents to the homeroom teacher and even the police, her bullies get away scot-free, while she is left to fend for herself with a body full of burn wounds.

The violence portrayed in the series surprised international fans to a large extent. Many were wondering if bullying really gets to this extreme end in South Korea or if it was exaggerated for the sake of the script. Turns out, that particular concept of bullying by burning in the show is actually based on a real-life event.

In 2020, a bullying incident came to light that left South Korea in shock. According to SBS reports, a 22-year-old young man named Park was lit on fire as a “prank” on his birthday by his acquaintances. On July 15, 2020, Park, who was then 22 years old, received a call from a group of acquaintances asking him to celebrate his birthday with them. He was then dragged forcibly to a vacant lot and tied up to a chair, face covered with a hood. The group then sprayed gasoline all over his body and proceeded to set off fireworks on both his knees. Eventually, when the firework exploded, Park’s body caught on fire.

It was so hot and painful, I fell over…The perpetrators saw a burning human being and just said ‘Keep rolling.’…I kept burning…I thought, ‘I’m gonna die like this.’ When I told them ‘Please call 119’ the perpetrators said ambulance this place is gloomy so the ambulance can’t come easily.

—Mr. Park, SBS

As a result of the event, Park suffered third-degree burns on 40% of his body. His family sought legal action, only to be forced to do a monetary settlement. In the end, the perpetrators got away with just probation. On the other hand, Park’s treatment cost over ₩100 million KRW (about $79,800 USD), more than double the settlement money. When his family asked the perpetrators to pay for his treatment, they denied saying they didn’t have any money. Currently, his family has filed an additional civil lawsuit to address the injustice.

With The Glory, Park’s case has resurfaced on the Korean internet, making netizens enraged all over again with the way the case was handled.

• “Is the prosecutor b*stard for real? They put someone’s body on fire, and all they got was probation??”
• “To the prosecutors of this country.. how exactly are you calculating these crimes that attempted murder ends up with probation?”
• “Throw them all in jail and set them on fire. They are devils.”
• “That’s crazy.”
• “Does the victim needs to die for the perpetrators to be punished? A person almost burned to death and probation? You f*cking crazy people, are you joking? I can’t help but curse because it’s like real-life ‘The Glory’ with the same school violence with the curling iron.”