'The Glory' is a South Korean revenge drama series broadcast on Netflix. The plot revolves around Moon Dong-eun (Song Hye-kyo), who is brutally bullied by students and forces Dong-eun to drop out of high school. He spends the next few years rebuilding himself as a vengeance ship and earns a teaching degree to become a classroom teacher at the primary school attended by the daughter of his chief bully Park Yeon-jin (Im Ji-yeon). The revenge Dong-eun desires is absolute – she wants to completely destroy Yeon-jin's former torturer by seducing her husband and taking all of his money.
Bullying is a global problem plaguing the lives of young people. According to a survey conducted in 2022, bullying in South Korea has increased by 25,4 percent in one year. And so often violence breeds violence, many of you may be wondering if 'The Glory' was inspired by real events. Here's what you need to know about it.
Is The Glory A True Story?
No, 'The Glory' is not based on a true story, but as it deals with a topic like school violence, aspects of reality are deeply embedded in its narrative. The series includes 'Descendants of the Sun' and 'Mr. Sunlight.' At a press conference in December 2022, Kim revealed how personal “The Glory” was to her. “I am a parent with a daughter who is in 11th grade the day after tomorrow. Violence at school is a topic very close to home for me,” she explained.
Kim also recounted an incident that sparked the idea for the show in her mind. Apparently his daughter came up to him and said, "Do you get hurt more if I beat someone to death or beat them to death?" asked. As shocked as he was about the question, it also fueled his creativity. “A lot of ideas came to my mind in a short time and I turned on my computer. That's how [the show] started,” said Kim.
'The Glory' isn't the first K-drama about school violence, and it won't be the last. In "Sweet Revenge," a high school student named Ho Goo-hee discovers an app on his phone that allows him to take revenge when he types in the names of his bullies. In 'True Beauty', 18-year-old Lim Ju-kyung is dealing with an inferiority complex due to the severe bullying she faced at her school.
Kim did extensive research on violence at school and spoke to multiple victims. He was surprised to learn that all these people wanted was a sincere apology. “It's not [about] gaining something, it's getting it back. In the moment of violence, you lose the things you cannot see, such as dignity, honor, glory. I thought you should take that apology to get back to the starting point, and that's why I made the title 'The Glory'. I encourage victims like Dong-eun, Hyeon-nam, and Yeo-jeong,” said Kim.
In 'The Glory', revenge is one of the two main themes along with bullying. There's also a commentary on class warfare, a recurring motif in South Korean movies and TV shows, from "Parasite" to "The Squid Game." While bullies come from the wealthy and privileged class, their victims come from humble backgrounds. The dichotomy between these two groups is often the root cause of much of the hostility.
“Living with a high school student is like you're at war,” said Kim, somewhat humorously. “I didn't have a sweet and loving life with him. So I was sure it was time for me to write a violent, grudge-filled thriller.” Obviously, the creators of 'The Glory' filled the show's narrative with elements of reality, but it's not based on a true story.