Kim Eun Sook and Song Hye Kyo’s efforts in criticizing school violence through “The Glory” go in vain due to the controversial director
Earlier, a netizen made a revelation on Hey Korean, an online community for overseas Koreans living in the U.S., exposing Ahn Gil Ho as a school violence perpetrator. Shortly after the revelation was reported, director Ahn denied the allegation, saying “There was absolutely no such thing. I have no memory of assaulting anyone in a group.”
However, in the latest statement, director Ahn admitted that he had a girlfriend when he studied in the Philippines in 1996, and when he heard that his girlfriend was teased by her classmates because of him, he reacted emotionally and hurt others. In the end, he expressed deep regret and willingness to apologize to those who were hurt by his past actions in person or through other means if given an opportunity.
In response to Ahn Gil Ho’s apology, many viewers expressed their sense of betrayal. It is because Ahn Gil Ho’s recent work “The Glory” depicts the revenge of a woman whose soul was broken due to the experience of school violence during her high school days.
The director who made a drama criticizing school violence was eventually revealed to be a perpetrator of a similar crime. As a result, this has caused a significant loss of trust among the public. While “The Glory” is gaining compliments for its powerful and merciless ending, criticism directed at Ahn Gil Ho’s school violence history is now coming back as a significant backlash that harms the whole production team.
Above all, the story of “The Glory” was created based on Kim Eun Sook’s heartfelt concerns about school violence that started with her daughter’s questions about such issues. In fact, the writer wrote “The Glory” as a way to comfort real-life school violence victims who may be going through similar experiences.
Moreover, the actors also worked hard and poured all their passion into this drama with such a meaningful message. Song Hye Kyo even starved herself for 3 days to express school violence victim Moon Dong Eun, and Cha Joo Young also gained 6kg to portray the traits of her character more perfectly.
“The Glory” succeeded because the realistic and moving lines written by Kim Eun Sook, along with the heartfelt acting and effort of the actors, harmonized with the director’s delicate directing. However, it is now difficult to empathize with the story due to the director’s controversial past. Director Ahn Gil Ho’s mistake in the past has ruined the work, the production team’s efforts, and the also viewers’ experience.
Source: Nate
