The Glory Part 2 is now streaming–the finale of a K-drama that follows a woman who suffered childhood violence as she executes her revenge against her bullies and their accomplices. The series gained buzz in the Philippines when it first came out in December 2022, but the release of its second part is not the only thing that the online community is talking about right now. Apparently, The Glory director Ahn Gil Ho is being accused of school bullying himself.
Photo: AsianWiki / “The Glory” via Netflix
The accusation
The alleged victim reportedly came across the director’s now-popular work after their classmates discussed it in a group chat. “To be honest, if Ahn Gil Ho is living well, I don’t care to make an issue out of that. However, I’ve come to reveal this as it’s absurd and unforgivable for a school bully to direct a program like ‘The Glory’ that is meant to raise awareness about school violence,” they said.
Soompi reported that it happened in the Philippines in 1996, while Ahn Gil Ho was in his third year of high school while they were in their second year of middle school. They were said to be threatened and assaulted for nearly two hours when the director found out they teased their classmate whom he was dating at the time.
Photo from “The Glory” courtesy of Netflix
Ahn Gil Ho, along with 10 people with him, allegedly interrogated the group while beating them up about who was making fun of his girlfriend. When nobody answered, the victim claimed that he threatened to stab them.
In addition to this story, the victim said, “If Ahn Gil Ho denies [these allegations], the other friends who were also summoned have said they would testify with me. If he denies [it] and wants to take legal action, I too will respond actively. What we want is justice. Aren’t people not supposed to do this? It’s so shameful.”
The response
Photo from “The Glory” courtesy of Netflix
Studio Dragon, the production company for “The Glory,” has already responded saying that they would look into whether the situation was true. On the other hand, Ahn Gil Ho reportedly claimed initially that he has no memory of hitting anyone while he studied in the Philippines for a year.
The ex-girlfriend
Despite allegations of being a school bullying perpetrator, the director was also seen by the public as a defendant of his former girlfriend. This urged the alleged ex-girlfriend to speak up.
Photo from “The Glory” courtesy of Netflix
“Contrary to the public’s belief, what happened to me was not bullying. My friends did not improperly tease me. It was only part of our daily jokes of laughing and bantering with each other. If I knew that Ahn would assault my friend because of this, I would’ve never told him. At the time, my friends sometimes teased Ahn’s name and called him ‘an-gil-eo’. While some people think my friends had directed the jokes at Ahn sexually, it was not true. We were not old enough to make such sexual jokes. The term was popular at the time due to the long-legs and short-legs meme trends,” her statement on KPOPPOST read.
She explained further, “They were all my close friends at the time. Even after the incident happened, we were still close, joking around and making fun of each other’s names. Therefore, the assault cannot be justified in any way. And actually, I want to ask him back whether it is justifiable for a high school senior to physically assault two middle school students in a secluded place.”
“I just wish Ahn PD would apologize for what he did and reflect on his behavior at the time, even if it’s too late. Unfortunately, his statement and current stance make him no different from those bullies in his own drama series,” she concluded.
The apology
Photo from “The Glory” courtesy of Netflix
Today, an apology statement from PD Ahn Gil Ho’s lawyer Kim Mun Hui of the law firm JIPYONG has finally been released.
It goes, “I am lawyer Kim Mun Hui of law firm JIPYONG who is representing director Ahn Gil Ho. We ask for your understating that there was a slight delay in time from the initial report to announcing our stance.
“Director Ahn Gil Ho had a girlfriend whom he started dating at the time while studying abroad in the Philippines in 1996, and when he heard that his girlfriend became subject to teasing at school due to him, he momentarily got emotional and gave another person an unforgettable wound.
“[Director Ahn Gil Ho] asks for forgiveness from deep within his heart to those who were hurt by this incident. If given the opportunity, he would like the meet in person or at least contact me by phone, to convey his apology.
“[Director Ahn Gil Ho] apologizes for causing controversy over an unfortunate incident.”
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