There is plenty of debate concerning the approach juvenile justice should take against those accused of crimes. First, there is criminal law, with its appropriate measures to tackle juvenile delinquency. The law takes two separate but concurrent approaches to school violence and bullying. As drama viewers, what hints can we glean about the effectiveness of these measures?
This raises the question as to what measures South Korean authorities have taken to curb such instances. Often in such real-life instances, the student in question has jumped off their apartment building, echoing Kwon’s own death. A quick google search will also reveal instances of adolescent death by suicide, prompted by bullying. This mirrors the reported words of the real-life bullies of Kwon Seung-min, whose death by suicide in 2011 brought the issue into national public consciousness. It is striking that in A Beautiful World, the bullies when questioned, repeatedly say they could never have imagined that the things they did “for fun” would drive Seon-ho to such an extreme step. These commonalities reflect real life tragedies. Instead, we are shown in brutal detail how he was assaulted, and why he jumped from the school roof. Here, the show does not raise the question of what happened to the boy. In Save Me (2017), another heavy drama that takes on the topic of a religious cult, the cult in question uses a family tragedy – the death by suicide of the son as he was being bullied – to entice the family into its fold.
Perhaps that is why dramas that delve into this heavy subject share many plot points.Įven dramas that do not necessarily focus on the issue feature these elements. Drama writers thus find much inspiration to draw upon from real life. Unfortunately, such happy endings are the stuff of dramas. In A Beautiful World, Seon-ho not only survives the fall, but he has no lasting injuries. As the school administration and law enforcement fail them, Seon-ho’s loving family take it upon themselves to investigate into what happened on the night he fell. Despite the video and Seon-ho’s critical condition, the School Violence Committee lets his assailants go with a simple punishment. The recently concluded A Beautiful World is a rare drama that not only depicted such scenes but made the issue its central plot.Ī video of Park Seon-ho being beaten by his “friends” emerges a few days after he is found to have fallen off his school’s roof. It is hardly surprising then, that high school dramas often depict scenes of bullying and/or violence. In 2015, it was estimated that 3 out of 10 students experience bullying in school. School violence and bullying is a serious issue in South Korea. Note: this article contains discussions of bullying and violence, and references to suicide.
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