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Nam Joo-hyuk accused of school bullying, fans deny as his high school photos surface: 'Are you sure?'

A graduate, who passed out from the same high school as K-drama actor Nam Joo-hyuk in 2013, accused the actor of bullying them for four years

It seems like what seemed like a fad that was popularised in 2021 is making its reappearance in 2022 and fans are not here for it. Back in early 2021, the entire South Korean Entertainment industry was grappled with the issue of school bullying where popular actors and K-pop idols were embroiled in school bullying accusations. While bullying is not as big of an issue, so much to cancel the careers of individuals anywhere else in the world, Korean culture takes many measures against school bullying.

This is why as soon as Korean entertainers are embroiled in issues regarding school bullying, the agencies that represent these individuals take it upon themselves to clarify the issues immediately. On June 20, actor Nam Joo-hyuk was involved in a new school bullying controversy that claimed he was an 'iljin' while he was in high school. An anonymous user made a post online and claimed that the leading Korean actor was a perpetrator of bullying while in school but his agency - Management SOOP has immediately released a new statement in response to the allegations.

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Actor Nam Joo-hyuk accused of school bullying

Actor Nam Joo-hyuk was last seen in the popular K-drama 'Twenty-Five Twenty-One' but has been a famous Korean actor for years. He first shot to fame with the 2016 K-drama, 'Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok-joo' and was also known for his role in dramas like 'Start Up' and 'The Bride of Habaek'. Back in 2021, Nam Joo-hyuk's costar 'Moon Lovers: Scarlet Heart Ryeo', Ji Soo was also embroiled in serious school bullying allegations which led to an end to his career as an actor. Now, with Nam Joo-hyuk involved in similar issues, fans are worried about the actor. In the post, the user claimed that Nam Joo-hyuk was one of their classmates at Soo-il High School.

The user posted a photo of their graduation yearbook and stated that they were bullied by Nam Joo-hyuk for about six years, from middle school to high school. Not only that but the user called the actor an iljin claiming that Joo-hyuk hung out with the iljins and maintained that they are not the only victims of Nam Joo-hyuk's group.

Was Nam Joo-hyuk an iljin?

In the west, it is common to see cliques of school bullies who hail from well-to-do families and take their anger out on the weak and poor. The Korean equivalent of the term for a group of rich bullies is "iljin". Members of an iljin or Korean school gangs are seen as people who do not have a good character and are also filled with pride. It is also claimed that members of iljins want to be “first-class” students and students who consider themselves to be leaders in sports, dance, singing, and appearance at school often join such iljin gangs for clout.

The user who rose against Nam Joo-hyuk claimed that the now-actor used to interrupt them during lunchtime and cursed and assaulted them during their school days. The user posted, "My friends who have been severely bullied are avoiding watching TV and are receiving psychiatric treatment." The user shared that they only wanted to come out of the dark and present this narrative to avoid having more victims in the future. Regarding this issue, the representatives of Nam Joo-hyuk stated that they were checking the facts of the claim and would soon release a statement. 

'Are you sure you got the right person lol?'

Fans find the rumor completely baseless as one fan said, "Nam Joo Hyuk a bully in middle school & high school?? You sure you got the right person bec I don't think so LOL." Another fan said, "Nah, because it was always like this. Once a Korean idol became successful, it always had rumours like this. I'm so sick of these kinds of issues. So tiring, lol. Stop messing with Nam Joo Hyuk. BIG NO." One fan said, "#NamJooHyuk people should not throw any bad comments about this accusations of bullying there's no confirmation about this. Lets wait for the action oof the company and Nam Joo Hyuk statement."

One fan said, "NOTHING IS CONFIRMED! I REPEAT NOTHING IS CONFIRMED ABOUT THE ACCUSATIONS ABOUT NAM JOO HYUK." Another fan said, "Looks like he's the one got bullied lol are they sure they got the right person?" Another fan said, "I hope the bullying allegation is not true. nam joo hyuk is one of the korean actors that i rly support. i trust him for now. ps. His high school pictures doesn't look like he would bully someone, its the other way around." One more fan said, "Now Nam Joo Hyuk! Wow! I guess all entertainers in Korea are bullies. Nope! Not buying this one!" Another fan said, "Nam Joo Hyuk's been acting for years now, why is this surfacing just now lmao. I hope this gets cleared out soon."