Actress Lee Min Jung has shared her experience as a victim of school bullying for the first time, offering a candid reflection on violence faced by students in the past and the changing challenges faced by today’s youth.
On January 27, a new video was released on Lee Min Jung’s YouTube channel 'Lee Min Jung MJ', featuring a conversation with child and adolescent expert Choi Min Joon. The two discussed parenting, adolescence, and the differences between school violence in the past and present, during which Lee Min Jung naturally opened up about her own middle school experience.
Choi recalled that school violence decades ago was far more overt and often occurred in an atmosphere where it was tacitly tolerated. “Back then, if you were counting money outside, someone would immediately come up and put an arm around your shoulder,” he said, describing how normalized intimidation had been.
Nodding in agreement, Lee Min Jung shared a personal memory from her first year of middle school. “I was in my first year, and some older high school girls were sitting with their legs spread and called me over,” she recalled. “As soon as I approached them, they kicked me without saying a word.”
She continued, “They said they were going to search my bag. I was so scared that I couldn’t do anything, and in the end, they took all the money I had.” The actress noted that she had never spoken publicly about the incident before.
Choi described students at the time as being like “herbivores on the Serengeti,” constantly exposed to physical threats. He added that while today’s environment is generally safer due to CCTV, parental supervision, and social awareness, children now face different issues, including weaker emotional resilience.
Lee Min Jung agreed with the observation, saying, “These days there are cameras everywhere, and parents often drop their kids off and even put them in taxis. But at the same time, I feel that some children break down more easily over smaller things, which is another problem in itself.”
Throughout the video, Lee Min Jung spoke openly not only as a public figure but also as a parent, sharing her concerns about raising children in a rapidly changing social environment. Her honest confession has since sparked broader conversations online about school violence, emotional strength, and how society can better protect and support young people.
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