Is it just me or...?

In Korean dramas, you see the typical bullying in school where the rich kids or the "kingkas" always pick on the smaller, vulnerable ones who are poor, loners, "ugly", lacking in something or just because they're easy to pick on (and don't fight back). Also, this hatred towards nerds with huge as glasses... all of these stereotypes - are they really a reflection on the greater society of Korea? I don't know much about Korean culture especially their schools and their students but I do know that in my school and probably the rest of Australia, even if a kid may be poor due to their family situation, their classmates would actually feel sorry for them (like in my school I can imagine) and recieve a lot of support.

Whereas in Korean dramas, if a kid is poor, he/she doesn't want anyone to know because of the supposeed bullying and abuse they might recieve. I mean, is this really what it's like in Korean schools OUTSIDE korean dramaland?

I noticed that the teachers don't even know of the bullying going on in Korean elementary/middle/high schools. Or is it just that the victims are too scared to tell the teacher? Or the teachers are scared of being fired if the bully tend to be chaebols whose family owns the school or something? Really, this confuses me.

Certain things are really confusing me in dramas because I don't know what it's like in a truly Korean school. Sometimes in dramas, things can be overly dramatised and some things not so I can't tell which is which. When I'm writing a fanfiction, I really want to know what it's like in Korea, not just the dramas but outside too so that I will be able to shape the plot and characters to it has that nice drama touch but not cliche like the typical dramas.

Also, WHY ARE NERDS BULLIED IN KOREAN HIGH SCHOOLS (IN DRAMAS)??? IT'S SOOO ANNOYING! I mean, glasses are so cute!!! especially those big black rimmed ones!! In my school, we don't bully others just because they're nerds and stand out. I mean, we praise them and they have a bunch of admirers too! The school and kids cheer for them and everything! I don't know if it's just the dramas or if it's really true and all in korea so please help answer this concern of mine! Thanks so much!!! <3333

 

P.S: The classing system. Oh the "first-class" to the "lowly poors" asdfghjkl >.< Waeeeeeee ~

 

 --DaeTokki

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UndergroundMemories #1
Your Australian??????? HOLY I AM TOO
SouthWest #2
School in Korea can actually be really scary at times. Though I suppose that's actually true for school in any country in it's own way.
I don't know about the accuracy of rich school dramas, but have you watched the drama 'School 2013'? This drama isn't about a rich school, but it addresses many of the real problems that Korean students go through: stressing for exams; in school all day; choosing the right 'academy'/ 'lesson school' to attend for additional classes; bullying; being ignored; smoking; suicide; friendships; dreams; being the best student versus being a good friend; living up to parents expectations; etc. It's also a good look into the school's faculty and the role parents play in their child's education. In Korea, there are always some teachers that really want to help the students, others only care about grades, some only care about themselves. In this drama the principal only cares about the school rep and often times is forced to address parents concerns which is all very typical.
I really enjoyed this drama and it helped me understand more about Korean schools. Maybe it will help you too?
Infinite_H_Inspirit #3
Well, in Korea, they bullied you for being different same like my school.
But my school doesn't bullied the poor, instead, the school asked us to donate some of our money for them so they could study with ease.
And in Korea, the students doesn't really beat the out of the bullied student. Instead, the concept of bullying in Korea is by ignoring their existence. Like if the student is asking a question that they don't understand in a subject to the student that sit beside him/her, the student will ignore him/her and pretend that they never existed. Then the whole class will ignore him/her and eventually, when the whole school found out about it, they too will ignore the student.
And this will eventually make them stressed since the school system in Korea is too much. Their school start at 7.30/8.00 a.m. till 5 p.m. Then they will have study hall from 7.00 p.m till 11 p.m. After that, they still have their homework to do and they also have crammed school which resulted the students to have a maximum of a few hours of sleep. While the stressed kept piling up, the student that is being bullied will have even more stressed since they can't asked for help and this will eventually make them suicide from the top of a building.
And if the bullied students told the teachers that they are being bullied, the teachers can't help them since they will be bullied even more and probably will get even worse treatment.

I hope this help you, though I'm not 100% sure since I don't study in Korea and this is as much knowledge as I could get about Korean schools. ^^
Tran-nhi #4
Could it be you're talking about 'The Heirs' drama?
well one it's a drama so they just want to make it a bit exaggerated with nerds being bullied. The glasses I think is probably just following the trend or the typical 'hiding behind the thick rims' as a hiding place.
I don't live in Korea but from the drama I think, well if the school is big and for the rich, then the school is probably supported by the wealth family.
If the say "Oh your son was bulling this student" Then the family can make a false article of take away their funding for the school. Also it's about the reputation. If bulling was to spread all over newspapers then their reputation would go down the drain.
I don't know if I answered most of you question but that's what I remembered from your post :P
Oh and it's based off of my opinion
So basically expensive/famous schools in Korea are usually funded by the rich, such as the scholars, and they need to have a good reputation. :)
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