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| ▲ This photo, provided by Netflix, shows producer Ahn with screenwriter Kim Eun-sook at the press conference of 'The Glory.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Mar. 11 (Yonhap) -- Amid the controversy over allegations of school violence against South Korean producer Ahn Gil-ho, who took the helm of Netflix’s mega-hit original series “The Glory,” Ahn’s ex-girlfriend, who was also unraveled in this scandal, expressed her position on the related issue.
A former student, whose identity has been withheld, raised allegations of the producer’s school violence by uploading a post on an online website for the Korean community in the U.S., “Hey Korean.” In the post, the accuser claimed that the producer severely assaulted him/her for about two hours, a high school senior at the time, while studying in the Phillippines in 1996.
The accuser claimed that Ahn assaulted his/her classmates for making fun of Ahn’s then-girlfriend. The public opinion on this allegation was immediately divided into two streams: One side claiming that a high school student assaulting a middle school student for two hours cannot be justified whatsoever, while the other side asserted that they have been assaulted as they teased Ahn’s then-girlfriend improperly. Some said that they will take a neutral stance until further revelations are made.
In response to such allegations, Ahn’s ex-girlfriend told Yonhap News Agency that “Unlike what many would believe, they did not improperly tease me, and it was part of our daily routine of laughing and bantering with each other. If I thought my friends would be assaulted by Ahn, I would not have told him about them.”
She then said, “My friends teased of Ahn’s name and sometimes called him ‘An-gil-eo,’ and I noticed that some asserted that they were making fun of his name by making sexual jokes. However, I would say that we were not old enough to make such jokes at the time, and we were just joking around as ‘long legs’ and ‘short legs’ were kind of used as memes at that time.”
In response to the criticism that the accusor verbally abused her first, his then-girlfriend refuted it, saying, “At that time, they were all my close friends, and even after that incident, we still were close. We were just joking around by making fun of each other’s names.”
“The assault, therefore, cannot be justified,” she asserted. “Furthermore, I actually want to ask him back whether it is justifiable for a high school senior to assault two middle school students in a lonesome place.”
She added, “I wish producer Ahn would apologize for what he did and reflect on what happened at the time even if it is very late,” adding, “His current stance is actually no different from those bullies in his drama series.”
In the meantime, Ahn denied the allegations, saying, “I did study abroad in the Phillippines for about a year, but I have never been unraveled in such physical conflicts with Korean students.”
Ahn said in a phone call with Yonhap News Agency, re-emphasizing, “It never happened. No matter how much I look back, I cannot remember a single incident of physically abusing someone in a group.”
In contrast to Ahn’s explanation, more allegations are being made from those who studied abroad in the Phillippines with him at the time.
Another then-student, whose identity will also be withheld and are currently residing in the U.S., said in a telephone interview with Yonhap News Agency, “I clearly remember that it was an incident in which a senior from another school came to our school and physically abused my classmates,” adding, “A friend was seriously assaulted, and it was very shocking for me to see my friend being abused such harshly at such a young age.”
Then added, “It does not make sense that Ahn, who did such harsh physical assault, does not remember. It became a huge deal at that time, and rumors spread all across our community.”
In another telephone interview, another friend of Ahn’s ex-girlfriend testified, saying, “One of the two friends who were assaulted by producer Ahn could not come to school for a few days, and the other friend also had bruises and wounds all over his body,” adding, “From that incident, he had to suffer from serious physical abuses from seniors, which never happened before.”
Meanwhile, Netflix’s revenge story “The Glory,” which unveiled its long-awaited second part at 5 p.m. on Friday, tells the story of Moon Dong-eun (played by Song Hye-kyo), who was both physically and mentally broken by school violence, exacting her revenge on the bullies after becoming an adult.
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)
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