Korean celebrities reveal painful school bullying experiences

Lee Hye-sung discussed her experience of school bullying on Friday on her YouTube channel, offering advice to people facing bullying and social exclusion. Her account renewed attention to similar experiences shared by Park Seo-joon, Sung Si-kyung and KwakTube. The celebrities described bullying during their school years, and Kwak said the harassment led him to leave high school and later contributed to social anxiety. Their accounts highlighted the lasting emotional effects of bullying and the importance of support for young people facing it.

Lee said she struggled to see beyond her circumstances in middle school and had no adult who could offer her the perspective she later shared.

Park said he was bullied in elementary school and became a very quiet student in middle school.

Sung said his first through fourth-grade years were hell and recalled classmates telling him to stay after school.

Kwak said he endured persistent bullying from elementary school through high school and left during his first year of high school.

Kwak said he later struggled with social anxiety and was unable to leave his home for a period.

Published Nov 5, 2026 12:00 am KST

From left, Lee Hye-sung, Park Seo-joon and Sung Si-kyung / Xportsnews

Korean television personality Lee Hye-sung has opened up about her painful experience of being bullied during her school years, drawing renewed attention to similar revelations by celebrities including actor Park Seo-joon, singer Sung Si-kyung and travel YouTuber KwakTube.

On Friday, Lee discussed the bestselling self-help book "The Courage to Be Disliked" on her YouTube channel, Lee Hye-sung's 1% Book Club, offering advice to people struggling with school bullying and social exclusion.

"If you think school is the only community where you belong, it can be incredibly painful when you're bullied or can't make friends," Lee said. "I've been through it myself."

Lee Hye-sung / Captured from Lee's YouTube channel

Reflecting on her middle school years, Lee said she had struggled to see beyond the difficult circumstances she faced at the time.

"When I was younger, in middle school, I couldn't think that way. There wasn't an adult around who could tell me something like that, either," she said. "That's why the situation was so incredibly painful and difficult."

Her candid account has brought renewed attention to other Korean celebrities who have spoken publicly about being bullied during their school years.

Park Seo-joon, above, and Sung Si-kyung / Captured from Sung's YouTube channel

Actor Park Seo-joon previously discussed his experience of being bullied during a 2024 appearance on singer Sung Si-kyung's YouTube channel.

"I was bullied a bit when I was young," Park said. "I was bullied in elementary school, and naturally became a very quiet student in middle school."

During the conversation, Sung also shared his own experience for the first time.

"This is actually the first time I've talked about it, but the years from first through fourth grade were hell for me," Sung said.

He recalled being intimidated by other students who would tell him to stay behind after school.

"They would say, 'Stay after class.' Back then, I never hit anyone, and I hated fighting," he said. "Looking back, I think that was better than hitting someone."

YouTuber KwakTube / Captured from his YouTube channel

Travel YouTuber KwakTube, whose real name is Kwak Joon-bin, has also spoken about the lasting impact of school bullying.

During an appearance on tvN's talk show "You Quiz on the Block," Kwak said he had endured persistent bullying from elementary school through high school.

He eventually dropped out during his first year of high school because he could no longer bear the harassment.

Kwak also discussed struggling with social anxiety afterward, which left him unable to leave his home for a period.

The accounts from celebrities known for their cheerful public personas have once again highlighted the emotional scars that school bullying can leave behind, even years after the abuse has ended.

Their stories have also drawn attention to the importance of support and understanding for young people experiencing bullying and social isolation.

This article from Xportsnews was adapted by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.

李慧星周五在她的YouTube频道上分享了自己遭受校园霸凌的经历，并为那些面临霸凌和社交排斥的人们提供了建议。她的讲述再次引发了人们对朴叙俊、成始璄和KwakTube等人类似经历的关注。这些明星都描述了他们在学生时代遭受霸凌的经历，其中KwakTube表示，霸凌导致他辍学，并最终引发了社交焦虑。他们的经历凸显了霸凌造成的持久情感创伤，以及为遭受霸凌的年轻人提供支持的重要性。

李说，她在中学时很难看清自己所处环境之外的事物，也没有成年人能给她提供她后来分享的那种视角。

朴先生说他小学时曾遭受霸凌，中学时变得非常内向。

宋说他一年级到四年级的时光简直是地狱，他还回忆起同学们让他放学后留下来。

郭先生说，他从小学到高中一直遭受校园霸凌，并在高一时辍学。

郭先生说，他后来患上了社交焦虑症，有一段时间无法出门。

发布于2026年11月5日凌晨12:00（韩国标准时间）

从左至右：李慧星、朴叙俊、成始京 / Xportsnews

韩国电视名人李慧星公开讲述了她在学生时代遭受校园霸凌的痛苦经历，这再次引发了人们对包括演员朴叙俊、歌手成始璄和旅行博主KwakTube在内的其他名人类似爆料的关注。

周五，李慧星在她的 YouTube 频道“李慧星的 1% 读书俱乐部”上讨论了畅销自助书籍《被讨厌的勇气》，为那些正在与校园欺凌和社会排斥作斗争的人们提供了建议。

李说：“如果你认为学校是你唯一归属的群体，那么当你遭受欺凌或交不到朋友时，你会感到无比痛苦。我自己就经历过这些。”

李慧星 / 摘自李慧星的 YouTube 频道

回想起自己的中学时代，李说她当时很难看清自己所面临的困境之外的事情。

“我小时候，上中学的时候，根本没法那样想。当时身边也没有大人能告诉我这些，”她说。“所以当时的情况才那么痛苦和艰难。”

她坦诚的讲述再次引起了人们对其他公开谈论学生时代遭受校园霸凌的韩国明星的关注。

上图为朴叙俊，下图为成始璄 / 图片来自成始璄的YouTube频道

演员朴叙俊曾在2024年做客歌手成始璄的YouTube频道时，谈到了自己被欺凌的经历。

“我小时候受过一些欺负，”朴说。“我在小学时就被欺负过，所以到了初中，我自然而然地变成了一个非常安静的学生。”

在谈话中，宋也首次分享了自己的经历。

“这其实是我第一次谈起这件事，但从一年级到四年级对我来说简直是地狱，”宋说。

他回忆说，以前放学后，其他学生会恐吓他，让他留下来。

“他们会说，‘放学后留下来。’那时候，我从不打人，而且我讨厌打架，”他说。“现在回想起来，我觉得那样比打人好。”

YouTuber KwakTube / 摘自他的 YouTube 频道

旅游博主 KwakTube（真名郭俊彬）也曾谈到校园欺凌的持久影响。

郭在tvN脱口秀节目《You Quiz on the Block》中表示，他从小学到高中一直遭受校园霸凌。

他最终在高一辍学，因为他再也无法忍受骚扰。

郭先生还谈到，此后他一直饱受社交焦虑的困扰，以至于有一段时间无法出门。

以开朗形象著称的名人的讲述再次凸显了校园欺凌即使在虐待结束多年后仍会留下的情感创伤。

他们的故事也让人们关注到，对于遭受欺凌和社交孤立的年轻人，支持和理解至关重要。

本文原载于 Xportsnews，经人工智能生成系统改编，并由《韩国时报》编辑。