4 Gripping K-Dramas That Show the Darker Side of High School
Psychological dramas that explore one of today's most pressing issues.
The problem of school bullying is one of the most acute in South Korea. It is not surprising that this topic is often reflected in Korean TV series.
We have collected Korean dramas that deal with school bullying in a variety of genres.
1. Pyramid Game, 2024
Seong Su-ji transfers to an all-girls school and learns that there is a social hierarchy, a so-called "pyramid" of students.
As expected, girls from wealthy families receive the highest scores, while poorer students end up at the bottom and are quickly targeted for bullying. New girl Su-ji receives the lowest score, but she is not as easy as she seems at first. She decides to rise to the top of the "pyramid" at any cost.
2. The Glory, 2022-2023
Moon Dong-eun is an excellent student and dreams of becoming an architect, but this dream is not destined to come true. Due to cruel bullying by her classmates and the indifference of adults, Moon Dong-eun quits school and runs away.
After 18 years, the woman reappears in the lives of her tormentors. All these years, she has carefully developed a plan for revenge and is ready to carry it out.
Moon Dong-eun becomes a teacher in the class of the daughter of Park Yeon-jin, her main enemy in school. Gradually, Dong-eun's cunning plan brings chaos, fear and panic into the lives of those who once bullied her.
3. Class of Lies, 2019
The career of successful lawyer Gi Moo-hyeok falls apart after an unsuccessful case involving the murder of schoolgirl Jeong Soo-ah. Hoping to restore his reputation, the man gets a job as a teacher at the school where the deceased went to.
Moo-hyeok soon realizes that some of Soo-ah's classmates are also being bullied. Together with the teacher Ha So-hyeon, the lawyer tries to stop the bullying and at the same time find the real murderer of the girl.
In the vast majority of K-dramas about bullying, the adults remain indifferent. Class of Lies is a rare drama about adults who cannot ignore school violence and try their best to stop it.
4. The King of Pigs, 2022
Businessman Gyeong-min and detective Jong-seok, former schoolmates, are reunited after receiving a text message from a classmate they haven't heard from in 20 years.
The message triggers painful memories of how they were bullied in their youth. Soon after, a series of mysterious murders begins. The main characters' school bullies become victims of the madman. Now Jong-seok has to protect those who once bullied him.
One of the main ideas of the K-drama is that bullying destroys not only the victims but also the bullies.