The story of travel creator school violence survivor Kwak Tube, who achieved remarkable success after dropping out of school, is shedding light on stars who overcame similar hardships and inspired hope.
Appearing on the EBS interview content ‘BLANK’ on the 13th, Kwak Tube listened to the story of a youth who stopped attending school and shared his own experiences with deep empathy.
Kwak Tube recalled that his suffering was no different from that of the student, stating, “Even after quitting school, I received threats saying ‘I will find and kill you,’ which kept me locked inside my house for four months.” Although he registered for a GED academy, he dropped out because the other students reminded him of his perpetrators, eventually channeling his deep sense of ‘revenge’ into building a successful career as a travel creator.
Kwak Tube noted that while he initially thought about mentioning his bullies’ names during his rookie award acceptance speech, once he stood on stage, people he was grateful for came to mind first. He transformed his vengeful motivation into gratitude toward supportive individuals, ultimately achieving the ultimate revenge.
Following Kwak Tube’s confession, stories of other celebrities who suffered from school violence have also drawn attention. Prominent examples include IU, Joo Ji-hoon, and Jeon Somi.
In May 2005, IU revealed through a YouTube channel, “When I was in elementary school, middle school older kids extorted a lot of money from me. While riding my bike and playing with friends, older kids in school uniforms would block and threaten me with their bicycle wheels, demanding money. Since I was an elementary schooler without cash, they took my bicycle and threatened me just like lifting the front wheel of a motorcycle to steal my money.”
Jeon Somi, born to a Canadian father and a Korean mother, shared that she suffered from severe bullying for three years in elementary school. She explained, “I was heavily bullied. After transferring to a Korean elementary school in the third grade due to taekwondo, I was ostracized until the first semester of the sixth grade. The day after transferring was the student council election. I didn’t know what it was, but when someone said ‘If you run, we’ll vote for you,’ I ran as a candidate and won with the highest vote count. However, the next day, everyone started ostracizing me, perhaps out of jealousy. The teacher was the only person I was close with.”
Jeon Somi added, “When I became a high schooler and was busking, I saw the person who bullied me across the street. When I approached and greeted her, she looked flustered and asked to take a picture. After taking the picture, the pent-up resentment inside me finally melted away.”
Joo Ji-hoon was also a victim of school violence. He shared, “There were kids who actually hit people. Because of my large size, they didn’t bully me initially, but when we entered middle school, they formed a gang. It felt cowardly. Instead of a ‘one-on-one fight,’ it was more like ‘I’m going to bring my older brother.’ I was harassed by them until I graduated from high school.”
From Kwak Tube to IU, Jeon Somi, and Joo Ji-hoon, these individuals endured painful school violence that they would rather forget. Yet, by achieving undeniable success, they proved that the best revenge is not getting even, but thriving and succeeding on your own terms.
