Nam Joo Hyuk's 20 former classmates and teachers stand by him and vouch for his behaviour in high school

Content Warning: The following article mentions violence, PTSD, bullying, harassment, etc. Reader’s discretion is advised. 

On June 5, a South Korean media outlet, Dispatch, released an exposé where 20 of Nam Joo Hyuk’s former classmates and teachers came forward to dispel the bullying accusations placed on by another media outlet and a whistleblower. The article went on with detailed statements from those students and teachers talking about their interactions with the actor. 

On that day, an alumni member responded to the claim that Nam Joo Hyuk was a bully and said, "I don’t think it was a situation of that sort in our school. Here, the kids who were good at studying flock together, and the kids who like sports are together. Just playing with like-minded friends. So was I, and so was Nam Joo Hyuk.” The classmates who spent their second and third year with him in the same class also said, “The punishment was severe and strict at school. “If the teacher knew that there was such an incident and that he was constantly harassing someone, there would have been an uproar.”

Another said, “There was no ragging culture in the school, and if you tried to create such an atmosphere, it was a school that treated it very seriously, which is why it is easier to get along than bully someone." When asked what kind of student Nam Joo Hyuk was, another classmate said, "Joo Hyuk is not someone to bully anyone. He loved sports. Joo Hyuk always laughed and tried to keep everyone merry even when his friends joked about him, which made him very accommodating for his age.” 

His former homeroom teacher said, “Nam Joo Hyuk was someone who would say, 'Guys, let's be quiet' when the students are talking over the teacher. He was a mediator, someone who would say, 'Let's not fight'.” Regarding the controversy over sparring and forced payment, a classmate said that there was something like that at school, but Nam Joo Hyuk did not participate. 

Finally, the first grade homeroom teacher said to the news outlet, "I will risk the pride of my teacher's life. It was a time of corporal punishment, and even female teachers carried rods. Mothers made rods and gave them to teachers. At least at the time I was teaching, there was no such thing as bullying."

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