Revenge series 'The Glory' ranks third on Netflix's most-watched series chart in first half of 2023

[Aju News DB]

SEOUL -- South Korean revenge thriller TV series "The Glory" became the third globally most-watched content on Netflix in the first six months of 2023. The series, rolled out on December 30, 2022, portrays a story of a woman who experienced vicious bullying at high school taking revenge on bullies after becoming an adult.

According to the global streaming service giant's report released on December 13, the South Korean content recorded 622.8 million hours of viewing in the first half of this year. Tahe most-watched content was "The Night Agent: Season 1" with 812.1 million hours, followed by "Ginny & Georgia: Season 2" with 665.1 million hours. 

In the South Korean series, famous actress Song Hye-kyo plays a character named Moon Dong-eun, who was victimized by her wealthy peers during her teenage years. Although Moon's teachers were aware of the abuse, her friends were never punished properly. Moon later becomes an elementary school teacher and seeks revenge for her classmates. 

Despite the bullying allegations against its director, The Glory has maintained its explosive popularity. In March 2023, The Glory director Ahn Gil-ho apologized to a victim who accused Ahn of bullying while studying abroad in the Philippines. The alleged victim said he or she was beaten by about 10 people including Ahn for teasing Ahn's girlfriend.

In a 2022 survey of some 3.2 million students between fourth to 12th graders, conducted by South Korea's education ministry, about 54,000 respondents said they experienced bullying. Among various types of bullying, verbal abuse accounted for the largest portion with 41.8 percent, followed by physical abuse with 14.6 percent.
 
The domestic entertainment community has been embroiled in a wave of school bullying scandals. Many young fans expressed outrage over school bullying, urging labels to take action against artists who were found to have been perpetrators. K-pop girl band (G)I-DLE lost its sixth member after a 25-year-old singer was caught up in a school bullying scandal and dropped out.

Le Sserafim, initially a six-member girl group formed by Hybe's music label Source Music, has worked as a five-member group since May 2022 when its member Kim Ga-ram was allegedly embroiled in school bullying. Source Music terminated the contract with the troubled member in July 2022.