'The Glory' Song Hye-kyo, the bitter reality of having to directly punish 'Park Yeon-jin'

《Kim Ji-won’s Net Reason》
Reporter Kim Ji-won of Ten Asia picks out only the essentials from OTT platforms such as Netflix and TVING, which are filled with tons of content. From must-see masterpieces to highly anticipated new works, we recommend works that you can enjoy in the first row of your room.

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Due to 'The Glory', awareness of the social problem of school violence is growing. However, in our society, many 'Moon Dong-eun' still live with scars, while many 'Park Yeon-jin' live without a careless face. What makes it even more infuriating is that the perpetrators do not even know that the victims are living in pain. There is also a lack of legal and institutional mechanisms to protect victims and punish perpetrators. Because of this, Mundong had no choice but to seek revenge on his own.

'The Glory' depicts the story of Dong-eun Moon (played by Hye-kyo Song), whose soul was broken by school violence, as an adult and taking revenge on Yeon-jin Park (played by Ji-yeon Lim) and other perpetrators of school violence. According to the 'Netflix Top 10', which is officially calculated and announced by Netflix every week, 'The Glory' ranked first in the non-English TV category, recording 124.46 million hours of viewing time in the second week of March (6th to 12th). This figure far surpasses the 75.81 million hours watched for Season 4 of ‘All About You,’ which ranked first in the English-speaking TV category.

Part 2, which was released on the 10th, boasts a higher level of immersion than Part 1 with escalating events and exhilarating revenge. The sight of school violence perpetrators falling into the elaborate trap set by Moon Dong-eun and destroying each other is thrilling. The reason why 'The Glory' is receiving rave reviews is that it contains a well-structured story, good performances by actors, and awareness of the problem of school violence.

However, in reality, many victims of school violence are still suffering. Even as time passes, victims cannot forget the verbal and physical violence of their perpetrators. Awareness of the seriousness of school violence has increased due to dramas, but there are not many realistic ways to relieve victims.

In dramas featuring school violence, including 'The Glory', the main characters directly take action to punish the perpetrators. This is a refreshing yet bittersweet reason.‘Weak Hero Class 1’ (2022) | wave

'Weak Hero', based on the webtoon of the same name, is an action coming-of-age drama depicting the process of Yeon Si-eun (Park Ji-hoon), a model student in the top 1%, facing off against numerous violence with those she becomes friends for the first time. Director Han Jun-hee of Netflix's 'DP' participated in the planning as a creator. Director Yoo Soo-min, who directed the film, has experience winning the Best Film Award at the Mise-en-scène Short Film Festival. Actors Park Ji-hoon, Choi Hyun-wook, Hong Kyung, and Lee Yeon starred.

The main character, Yeon Si-eun, is physically weak. His revenge is intelligent. Yeon Si-eun uses her natural brain and tools to develop strategic and creative fighting skills to suppress violence inside and outside of school. Intelligent punishment for perpetrators of school violence creates a sense of pleasure.‘The King of Pigs’ (2022) | Teabing

'The King of Pigs' is a tracking thriller that tells the story of people who retrieve 'memories of violence' from a message left by a friend 20 years ago at the scene of a serial murder. Actors Kim Dong-wook, Kim Seong-gyu, and Chae Jeong-an played the lead roles. The original work is director Yeon Sang-ho's first full-length animation.

'The King of Pigs' represents the weak who submit to violence and power in a small society called middle school as pigs, and deals with the sense of inferiority and servility they acquire, as well as the despair and absurdity of the pigs who resist. What sets it apart from other school violence reports is that it unravels social issues such as school violence and supernatural phenomena through a tracking thriller.‘Third Person Plural’ (2022) | Disney+

'Third Person Revenge' is a teen revenge thriller that unfolds as Ok Chan-mi (Shin Ye-eun), who sets out to find the truth about her twin brother's death, and Ji Soo-heon (Romon), who begins a revenge quest against an unfair world, become embroiled in a shocking incident that shakes their lives. Ok Chan-mi sets out to find the truth behind her twin brother's death and learns that he was actually a perpetrator of school violence. Ji Soo-heon plays the role of a 'dark hero' who takes revenge on perpetrators of school violence in order to make money.

Third Person Revenge was rated as unsuitable for minors. This is because it contains high-level episodes such as group violence, bullying, sexual assault, and suicide attempts, and there are scenes that are uncomfortable to watch. On the one hand, these stimulating elements also increase the fun of the genre. Although it is disappointing as a revenge drama due to the somewhat drawn-out plot, it is highly attractive as a mystery drama in that the story of the two seemingly unrelated protagonists is filled with school violence.

Kim Ji-won, Ten Asia reporter bella@tenasia.co.kr