The Horrific Korean Boarding School That Abused Disabled Students

Barabim, baraboom. In the middle of the night, a. 13-year-old girl by the name of Lee. We're going to call her Lee. She would sneak out of her dorm room. She lived in this boarding school near. the mountains in South Korea, like near. the southern tip of South Korea. And. it's not just regular boarding school. The boarding school was strictly for. students who had mental, physical, and/or intellectual disabilities. They. were always under close watch and. supervision. So, for her to sneak out at. night, it was it was terrifying. She.

could hear the crickets, the sound of. owls. She could hear her feet. pitter-patter through the field. She's. getting close to the outside school. gates. She just needs to get past that. and into the parked car. She opens the passenger side and hops. in. This time there's two people in the car. Lee glances around to make sure that no. teacher, no administrator saw her get in. here. She'd be severely punished if she was. caught sneaking out to talk to her. reporters. But worse things have happened in this. boarding school. And she was ready to.

tell the journalist everything. So, it's. a known fact, almost like clockwork in. this school, especially on the weekends, the students would go to sleep. petrified. They would wear as many. layers as possible, even in the. scorching heat of South Korean summers, they would pull their blankets up. straight up to their neck, sometimes. even cover their heads, and they would. wait. They can't fall asleep on the weekends. It's almost like you're waiting for a. boogeyman, a ghost to come in. If. they're lucky, nothing happens.

They wake up sleep deprived. If they're unlucky, they hear the door click open, and someone is heard getting into the. beds with the students. Most of the times, all you heard were. muffled pleas for help. He usually put a. pillow over their heads. Everyone in the dorm rooms knows what's. happening. They all know who it is. They all know. they can't dare say a single word. Instead, they all pretend to be asleep, praying that they're not next. But it wasn't just at night, or just in.

the dorms. She told the journalist about. how much the kids hated something called. movie time. Certain teachers would turn on movies. for the whole class, and the teacher. would sit in the very, very back in the. shadows, call over two to three female. students to sit in the back with him, and he would assault them in front of a. classroom full of students. And nobody. ever tried to tell the parents or anyone. what happened? She said, "Well, he threatened to kill. us.". So, it's just that one teacher, the one. that plays the movies, or is he the the. same one that sneaks into the dorm.

rooms? No, there's more. There's one we call the pervert. When we. see him walk down the hallway, we avoid. eye contact. If the pervert catches you, it's too late. He caught Hemin. Hemin was a deaf. student in the school. She was called. into the pervert's office, and she. didn't know why the pervert would want. to see her. All she knew was that. nothing good ever happens in the. pervert's office. But she had no reason not to go. She. literally lives here. No legitimate. excuse that she can use.

So, she went. And when she walked into the office, she's facing away from the dorm. The pervert walks behind her, and ever. so slowly. turns the doorknob, and gently closes. the door. And click. He locked it. But because Hemin was deaf, she didn't. hear a thing. And she was turned facing away from him, so she didn't see it. She had no idea. that he was trapping her. And then boom, he turned off the lights. It's pitch black. She could feel her.

breathing going faster as her eyes are. just trying to adjust to the dark. There. is a tiny little TV in the corner that. she hadn't really noticed before, but. now that it's dark, it's the only source. of light. So, she's squinting. There was a disgusting adult film that. was playing on there. Wow. And she whipped around, and her. determination was to just run out the. door, right? Doesn't matter, just run. out. And there she saw him blocking the. door. The principal standing, pants at his. ankles, fully masturbating and staring.

straight at her. He's the principal? The pervert is the. principal, and she would not escape his. office unscathed. Wow. The student glanced out the car window. and told them another story. A friend of. hers had been lured into one of the. teachers' offices. They ambushed her. there, hog-tied her, restrained her in. five different places. She was gagged. A few of the teachers, they assaulted. her for almost 15 hours. She was gone the whole day, and then. afterwards, as a lesson, {quote} lesson,

they left her tied up after the abuse. She knew that there was nobody she could. tell that would help. I mean, we know. that the police are working with the. teachers. There would be no point. She. had no choice but to go back to her dorm. and try to pretend like none of this. ever happened. But there were other rumors, too. When students would get pregnant, they would disappear. What do you mean they would disappear? We don't know. But one student was feeling morning. sickness. She didn't have a period in. like 3 months. She was pregnant. She.

started to show. One day, we went to check up on her in. her dorm room because she didn't make it. to class. She wasn't feeling great. Her dorm was empty. She was gone. All of her belongings were. gone. We never heard from her again. But that's not all. In the darkness of. the car, the student told the journalist. everything in a series of secret. meetings. How they were starved. They. would be forced to gather around for. dinner and eat scraps of food that were. left over from lunch, like teachers'. food scraps. They were basically fighting for food in. like a pit.

There were rumors about a girl that had. starved to death because she was so. hungry, she had wallpaper. And when she fell ill from eating. wallpaper, cuz think of all the toxic. substances in the glue and the paper. itself, one of the teachers pushed her. off the roof to make her family believe. that it was No. decision. These are the terrifying stories from. Inhwa boarding school for the disabled. It would inspire a movie called The. Silenced. And this movie resulted in a. public uproar that would change South.

Korea. as a nation. And I don't put that. lightly. Like South Korean law was. forever changed because of this movie. So let's get into it.

As always, full show notes are available. at rottenminglepodcast.com. There is a fictionalized book on this. case. Um the it Well, it's a loosely. fictionalized. So much of the abuse. reported in the book is pretty. play-by-play of what the victims have. stated have happened. The book is called. The Crucible, written by Gong Ji-young, one of the most prominent, respected. female writers in Korea, and it is what. many South Koreans consider the most. horrific read you can ever pick up.

And the thing about the novel is there. was an investigator who worked on this. case and said, "Yeah, the novel probably. covered. 25 to 30% of what really happened.". But probably due to public well-being. concerns and publishers' legal, you. know, rights, I don't think that she. could have ever published 100% of what. happened. There was the movie, the 2011 um. Silenced movie that was inspired by the. book, and it's often referred to the. movie that changed South Korea. Because.

I think a lot of Koreans, they knew that. it was a drama. They knew that it was. sad. They knew it was going to be. emotional. They went into theaters. thinking, "This is how I'm going to. spend my Friday night. This is how I'm. going to hang out for the weekend. People said when they came out they. couldn't breathe. It was like there was a 50-lb dumbbell. on their chest. And I think maybe it's. also when you watch something in a big. group of people there's kind of this. energy that feeds off of each other. People said this should be categorized. as the worst horror movie ever. It's.

that bad. Since this is a South Korean. case, we had multiple Korean researchers. assist in the gathering of the facts. And a big warning today's story deals. with a lot of children with. disabilities, quite literally the most. vulnerable population of society. It's not a happy story. It's pretty hard. to get through and it has an even more. depressing end to it all. So, if you're. not in a good mood, if you're not in a. good head space today, I recommend. turning this video off and maybe reading. a book instead. So, with that being said Kim Ho-song he.

kind of had a creepy job. His job was to wake up at the crack of. dawn, drive around in the foggy morning. picking up students. Then he would drop. them off at school. Being a Being a bus. driver isn't creepy and the kids aren't. creepy, but there was just something. about that boarding school. So, it's a boarding school where most of. the kids they live there full-time, but. there were still a few that commuted. So, he would pick up the commuters. The school was nestled at the bottom of. a mountain. And it just looked.

it looked like there was a perpetual. cloud of fog looming over the place. And he would see the other students that. lived at the school and. just something about them, the way that. they would walk around the school campus. in the mornings when he came to pull up. with the commuters. It's as if they were. empty shells of ghosts. It's like he was pulling up to a zombie. school. They weren't having fun. They weren't. running around full of morning energy. They were zombies. There were probably moments he even.

joked with his family, "Hey, maybe the. school is haunted and those are all. ghosts and I'm the only one that sees. them.". That's how the kids are acting. They're. just crazy. Maybe it's not even a. boarding school. Maybe all the students. that I bring, that's it. They're creepy. The only reason he kept the job was the. kids really liked him. Um they really loved him. He was like a. grandpa. They were so comfortable around. him. He wanted to see their journey. through the through the school years. Sometimes he would open the door, a kid. would step in, smile and wave, and as.

the sleeve of their shirt lifted up, he would see a bruise. or multiple bruises. And the first time. he saw it on a kid, he would lock eyes. with the kid and smile. He wouldn't say. anything because, you know, maybe kids. are tough players. Maybe they got too. excited at the playground. But the second time he saw it, he would. try and approach it as gently as. possible. What happened to your wrist? He thought, maybe it's a parent, you. know. But they would smile sheepishly and a. friend would butt in, "Oh, he forgot his.

homework, so the teacher punished him.". Woosung didn't like the sound of that. Okay, so teachers physically. disciplining students in South Korea. hadn't been outlawed at this point, but. to leave actual bruises, that's going a. bit too far usually. He tried his best to be happy for the. kids cuz it didn't seem like the. teachers were that happy. It didn't seem. like the boarding school kids were that. happy. And too, like the physical. punishment also, like it's not like. it's like usually they ask you to put. your hands up and they will spank you. with a ruler. So it's not like like.

punching you, leaving bruises. Not that. kind of physical, yeah. Yeah, it's. usually like um like spanking you. in the days, yes. Spank your palm and. type Yeah, or the back of your legs. It's not like they're just throwing you. around, jumping you with a gang of. teachers. I mean, but there have been. instances of that and I think that's why. it's been outlawed in South Korea, but. yeah, it was supposed to be disciplinary. action. So this is why he's very. confused. The bus driver is like, that's. not normal to have any bruises left on a. student because he forgot his homework. That's abuse. That's not even. disciplinary action, right?

So he makes sure that he's the happiest. part of the kids' days. The shy ones. would get on the bus and he would try to. bring them out of their shells like, "Okay, well, how was your day? What did. you guys do?". He remembered as he was driving, he was. having a conversation with one of the. female students in the front row. And. she was telling him about her day at. school. Her tone was very relaxed, casual. And. she said, "For lunch, I had more Korean. food and then the teacher touched me. down there because I forgot my homework. And then oh, I think I had geography.

class right after.". His hands gripped the steering wheel. And he glanced in the rearview mirror. and the little girl is just smiling at. him, telling him what happened as if cuz. she's a kid. How old are these students? Like so Okay, so this is from elementary. to high school, this boarding school. because it's a school for the disabled. Um there was not It's not like really a. high school. Yeah, yeah. So, I think she. was like 10. Wow. Yeah. Of course, she has no idea that this is. wrong. Nobody taught her that and that's.

not her fault, right? And she's just. smiling, telling this story because. she's that young. He didn't want to push her too much. He. was worried that he would cause her to. close up or think that she was in. trouble. So, he tried to keep his tone. light. "Oh, a teacher touched you? W-. where?". "In my pants, like near my potty parts.". The little girl got distracted with her. friends and that night the bus driver. went home and he was pacing his living. room. Sometimes you want to scream like, "Okay, well, bus driver, do something,

right?" But I had to keep reminding. myself that this is a completely. different time from today. There was no. social media. There was really no police that cared. unless there was social media pressuring. them to care and the media didn't care. unless they were guaranteed clicks. Who was this bus driver to go up against. an entire school accusing one of the. teachers that he didn't even know which. one of abuse. Yeah, and I'm sorry. No. And I wonder if it this is also his. livelihood. Yeah, and he had kids and a. wife and he had so much pressure. This.

is really the only job he had and I know. people are going to be like, "Then get a. new job, right? Why would you even want. to work under these people?" South Korea. is very different from the US. So, in. the US, you could get fired from a job. and if your next boss calls your old. boss and they start badmouthing you, you. could technically sue your old boss. The. The employee protection laws are a lot. stronger here. In South Korea, if you. get fired from a job, you're effectively. blacklisted. It doesn't even matter if you were fired.

because you were too good at your job. Doesn't matter if you were, "Oh, sorry, I was late dropping off the kids. I was. trying to help this old lady that was. having a seizure on the side of the. road." It doesn't matter. You're blacklisted. So, the bus driver knew that he's at the. bottom of the totem pole. The people. doing this are probably at the top. A. teacher, an administrator, he doesn't. even know which one. If he stands up. against them right now, he would get. fired. And then what? And then they would. replace him with a new bus driver. Who's. to say the new bus driver isn't a.

predator? No, he had to stay where he was to at. least try and protect the kids. But his job is done once he drops them. off. He can't sit in class with them to. protect them. He knew the smartest thing to do was to. keep his mouth shut for the sake of his. own kids, but he just couldn't do it. The next day, he went straight up to the. head of administration, which is aka the. vice principal, and he told him. everything he heard from that little. girl. And I don't know what the bus. driver was expecting. Maybe nothing.

would get done, right? But at least he's. expecting, okay, the vice principal is. going to put on this show and at least. they would pretend to look shocked and. like, "Oh my god, outraged." And then. promise him change and they're going to. do an internal investigation, right? The vice principal looked at him and. smirked. You're a bus driver, right? So, just drive. Wow. The implication. being keep silent and do your job and. don't stick your head in. what's not your business. The bus driver knew if this is how.

they're acting reacting to these. accusations, he needed more to take down. the abusers. So every day. the bus driver became a spy. He had never signed up for this. He was. just a bus driver, but here he was. The. minute the kids were on the bus, he. would smile and he would try to nicely. as untraumatically as possible ask about. any abuse that they encountered at the. hands of teachers. When he dropped them off at school, he. would look to the left and then to the. right. And when the coast was clear, he.

would stay parked in his bus, pull out. his black spiral notebook. He started. furiously writing down every single. detail he remembered. He didn't want to. forget a single thing about what any of. the kids said. And he would date it. He. kept every single entry. He kept. comprehensive records every single day. for 20 years. He had stacks and stacks. of black journals preserved in his home. in his closet. And every time he and his. family would walk past it, it would.

catch their eye. And it's just like. it's just like this dark energy that's. just radiating off these journals. Some of the journal entries talked about. the art teacher. The art teacher would. force female students up to the second. classroom second floor classrooms where. it's empty. He would strip them naked so he could. draw them. These are like 10-year-old girls. Sometimes he did more than just draw. The story of Soyoung was also in his.

black journal. She was in the sixth. grade when it happened to her. Remember how he talked to the vice. principal? Soyoung was called into the vice. principal's office after school cuz her. grades were too low. And she watched all. the other students gather their things, head back to the dorm rooms, and she. made her way to the vice principal's. office. She's thinking, "Okay, it's going to be. miserable. Maybe like an hour or two of. extra supervised study time, or maybe he. would just yell at her and call it a. day.". But when she stepped into the office,

she stood in front of the desk with her. head bowed. She watched as he walked. behind her, closed the door, locked it, and he prances up behind her and starts. groping her. And she remembered screaming, "Please, somebody help me." But he just. whispered, "Shut your mouth and be. quiet.". He started hugging her until it. escalated to a full incident of the R. word. She was in the sixth grade. This was in. the vice principal's office.

She said it hurt so much she had tears. streaming down her face, and after he. was done, he tossed two $1 bills on the. ground next to her. So-Young didn't live in the dorms, so. she walked all the way home, and the $2. could barely buy her a cup of noodles. from the convenience store. And I I think it's not about the money. I don't think any amount of money would. have justified what happened to her or. made it okay. But it's. it's almost a measly amount of money is.

worse, more degrading than no money. Yeah. The next. thought that he thought this is going to. mean anything. Yeah. to her. Yeah. And the thought that. he thought, "That's enough, yeah. That's. what she's worth." is basically what. he's insinuating. The next day, she went to the principal. and begged him to do something about the. incident. And she's like, "Please, this. is what happened with the vice. principal. You're his boss. You're the. principal. This is what he did to me.". And the principal looked at her and. said,

"You know, So-Young, you're almost to be. about to be in the seventh grade, right? That's what becoming an adult is. You. need to try and be the bigger person, and show him some grace, and just. forgive him just this once. If he does it again, then I can. discipline him, okay? But how about you learn to be an adult. and learn some forgiveness? Soyoung was awarded three or four more. times during her time at Eunhwa boarding. school. The stories in these journals were.

terrifying, and the bus driver didn't. stop trying. It's not like he just sat. there day in day out writing down the. most horrific accounts of abuse and. going home and doing nothing. He tried. to bring it up at the company dinner. So, they have 회식 in Korea, which is. basically you're forced to work after. hours. You get invited by all your. coworkers, your colleagues, your bosses, and you sit there drinking as much as. your boss wants you to drink and kissing. their butts. And then acting like you love it here, okay? That's basically what it is. The. bus driver is invited, and it's pretty. well known that absolutely not in a.

million years, as long as you want to. keep your job, you cannot say no. So, he goes to the dinner. Everyone's. getting drunk, you know, because the. administrators, they keep pouring soju. in everyone's class glasses. Now, another thing to add is. I don't think the bus driver could just. go to the police. If that's how he's being treated by his. employers, think about how he must have. been treated his whole life as a bus. driver. He probably has no educational. background. He probably doesn't feel. like he has any social power. Mhm. And.

in Korea back then, like the social. hierarchy is even worse. Oh, yeah. you're at the bottom of the chain, like, you know, you we know that Korea, you know, especially back then, they. only take anything serious if it comes. from a influential or wealthy family or. person. Anyone below, they can just. disregard you completely. For example, let's say you work for a massive. corporation, and you're like the. executive of you're the vice president. of that company. You throw out. allegations of essay,

they still won't take you seriously. Think about how a bus driver feels. He's. not a teacher, he's not an executive, he's not an administrator. Why would. they take his word? Why would they. believe him and a bunch of students. that, you know, back in the day in. Korea, it's always, "Oh, kids don't know. what they're talking about. Kids just. say all the darnest things.". So, he thought this was his chance. The. bus driver never really got to interact. with other teachers. He's thinking, "Okay, the vice principal shut me down, the administrator shut me down, but. maybe if I get a teacher with a college. degree, an intellectual background,

these teachers must be even more. connected to the kids than me because. they see the kids non-stop. I only see. them when I drop them off, right? It's. not like I can hang out in the break. rooms." So, he quietly spoke to a. teacher in front of him. While everybody. else was drunk and rowdy, he's like. whispering to this teacher. about the things that he heard on the. bus. And he's thinking, "Okay, the hay shits. about to go down. This teacher is. probably going to finish listening to. him and freak the fork out on the. administrators and it's going to be a.

whole thing.". He didn't realize the teacher he was. talking to. was one of the molesters. Instead of even trying to play off his. crimes as like, "Oh, I didn't know that. Oh my god, I'm going to talk to the. principal tomorrow." The teacher picked. up one of those So, in Korea, we drink. soup out of like earthenware bowls. They're made out of really heavy stone. It's basically a pot. You can put it on. the stove. It's like a dolsot bibimbap. bowl, right? I would imagine it's maybe. 50 times thicker than a regular bowl.

Yeah, it's like a piece of rock, right? like a cast iron. Yeah. He picked it up, drank his soup, and hit the bus driver's head with the. heavy bowl. Blood started dripping down. his face and onto the table. They had to. call an ambulance. It was that bad. And before he got on the ambulance, they. basically told him, "Say a word and. we'll kill you.". He learned that he could never speak. out. And at this point, the faculty had. verbally, physically abused him for. trying to protect the students. So, he. focused on maybe one day he could be the.

voice of the students. He wrote down. every single story, every event, he. logged it all. The dedication and accuracy of his logs. would be a great help to prosecutors. later. But you cannot but wonder, maybe things. could have been different had just one. teacher listened? And maybe there was one. Teacher J. We're going to call him. Teacher J because the legal battle later. gets so freaking messy, but if you've. seen the movie, he's the main character. And his story is based off real life.

events. So, Teacher J started his. teaching career in 2005, which something. to note, being a teacher in South Korea. is a very impressive position. Not that. it's not impressive anywhere else in the. world, we freaking love teachers, but unlike here, teachers in South. Korea, they actually get paid pretty. well. You know, they have job stability. It's. a really desired position. Once you get. in, unless you get fired, it's really. hard to just like move through the Like. you just Once you get in, you have job. security is what I'm trying to say. But. it's the getting in part that's a little.

bit difficult. Mr. J's dream job was. actually a position that not a lot of. other teachers wanted. He wanted to work in a school for the. disabled. He understood it would probably take. more patience, more love, more. compassion to work with disabled. students, but he he wanted that. Like, why not? He wanted to be a capable. teacher that was worthy of teaching the. the vulnerable population. It should be a privilege. It felt like. his calling in life, especially because. he himself had a disability. He also.

knew sign language, so he would be using. all of his skills to his advantage. And so, the first day at Inhwa, he. expected a really hectic day. I mean, think about it, you're working with. kids. He's thinking, okay, I've worked. with kids before, it's a handful. He's. prepping himself for kids are going to. be running around, screaming, being. goofballs while he's trying to get them. to settle down. Oh man, after recess, they're going to have all that. adrenaline from running, so then he's. going to, you know, tone it down. He's. going to be running around trying to. understand all of his colleagues, which.

ones are nice, which ones are going to. steal his lunch. He's expecting all of that, but when he. walks into his first class, it was like. walking into a funeral. These kids. weren't acting like kids. They weren't even just well-behaved. They kind of looked. like they wanted to melt into the wall. Like they were trying to be invisible. None of them even wanted to be seen by. him. It was weird. At first he thought, "Okay, well, maybe. I'm new here. Maybe they need to learn. that they can trust me, right?". But then the surprises just kept coming.

Mr. J was shocked to find out that in. the school that was quite literally. built for the deaf and mute, he was the. only one in the faculty on his floor. that knew sign language. Okay, you would think, because it's a. state-funded program, the government. pays for this school, for boarding. school with students with varying levels. of oral and auditory capabilities, the. bare minimum requirement for teachers. would be that they know sign language so. they can, I don't know, teach the kids, communicate with the kids. Another thing. was, Mr. J got to go home after classes.

So, most of the teachers, they didn't. live at the school. But most of the students did. They never. left, not even on weekends. And yet so much of the faculty didn't. know sign language. Like, what if what. if a student had emergency Mhm. in the. middle of the weekend? How could they communicate with people. that don't know sign language? And so many of them were sitting in the. classrooms with bruises peaking out from. under their shirts. Had this not been a boarding school, he.

might have assumed that the students. were being abused at home. But they were here, in the school, all. the time. Okay, maybe maybe they're so calm. because they play really rough at. recess, and they let out all their. energy, right? He's trying to. rationalize all these different. explanations in his mind. And very. quickly, there was just something that. he couldn't ignore. A parent rushed into his class one. fuming. "My son said one of the female. students at this school is being. molested by a teacher.". Mr. J's eyes are bulging out of his. head.

"I'm I'm sorry, what did you just say?". "I asked my son if he was sure, and he. said that he was positive. He speaks. sign language, and I know that you are. one of the teachers that do, so I need. you to talk to him. I want that teacher. punished.". Mr. J brought in the parent's son, and. the three sat down. And Mr. J asked, "Okay, tell me what. happened. It's okay. Did your friend get. Did your friend get touched in places. strangers shouldn't touch her?". The student looked terrified, and his. eyes were wide,

and he slowly nodded yes. And then he rolled up his sleeves, and. there was bruising all up and down his. arms. He glanced around cuz, you know, in. South Korea, I don't know if you guys. can picture the classrooms, but there's. these giant windows. It's not like. America where it's like concrete walls. and then a door with a window. There is like giant windows into the. hallway. You watch a K-drama of high school, you. know. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So, he's making sure that there's no. teacher walking by, no administrators, and he keeps his hands as close to his. body as he can, and in the smallest.

motions possible, he's quickly signing. It's almost like he's hiding. "I'm not the only one.". Mr. J watched as this student, this. literal child, was signing as fast as he. could, just. listing off the most horrific abuse that. Mr. J had ever heard of. His eyes were. watering, but he can't even look away. He had to listen to every single thing. that this student had to say. And the student continued, "I'm not the. only one with the bruises. The teachers. always beat us, and it doesn't matter. what they do, they'll beat us.

My friend wasn't the only one that was. touched by teachers, either. There's a lot more. The others.". "Why didn't you guys ask for help? Why. didn't anyone say anything?". "We tried. Every time we asked teachers. for help, we just got sent away or. punished even more. If any of us tried. telling people outside the school, they. would beat us, or they would try and. touch us. How did you find that that your friend. was. she was walking weird, and I asked her. if she was sick. But, she told me that she was arwarded. A man with glasses arwarded her, and I.

was so surprised. Mr. Jay got up and went to grab the. friend that this kid was referring to, and let's call her Yujin. Yujin was only 10 years old, and because. both of her parents lived with mental. disabilities, her parents thought that. the best thing that they could ever do. for their kid. was to send her to this boarding school. These are not parents that didn't want. her. These are not parents that are. like, "I'm so busy with work. I don't. want to spend the weekends with you.". They genuinely thought if that.

if when they were growing up with their. disabilities, if there had been such a. thing for students with disabilities, they felt like. they would have a chance at a normal. life. So, this was Yujin's chance. She. would be surrounded by students like. her. She would have a community, a place. to fit in, and that makes this situation. even more infuriating. To her, this to. her parents, this school was like a. beacon of hope. And now, she's shaking in her chair as. this new teacher is signing to her. Did he. And she told him,

"Yes, I'm sure that he did. He made me. bend down, and he pulled my pants down. And afterwards, he cleaned everything up. with paper towels, and he gave me a cup of Coke to drink.". The man with the glasses? Which one? And right at that time, she pointed at. the perpetrator. It wasn't Mr. Jay's colleague. It wasn't a teacher. It was none other than the vice. principal.

One of the top dogs in the entire. boarding school, and Mr. Jay could feel. his chest moving up and down rapidly. Like, he had to be smart about this. He. can't just confront the guy. If he is. the vice principal, he has more. authority than Teacher Jay. He could. easily cover it up or shut him up. Teacher Jay stormed into the nurse's. office, told her everything. Like, "Did. you know about this? We need to get some. evidence, like some medical evidence on. these students if they're being abused. like this. She boards here. You didn't. live here. So, obviously, she would have. come here if she felt ill and she was. very ill because she couldn't even walk. properly to the point where her friends.

noticed.". And teacher Jay is like holding back his. tears. This is a 10-year-old we're. talking about, a 10-year-old with. disabilities that was so excited to be. at this school because for the first. time in her life, she felt like there. was hope. And he's on the verge of breaking down. And this is the terrifying part. The. nurse's face is stone cold. "I'll look into it.". What? What What do you mean you'll look into. it? "I said I'll look into it, teacher Jay.".

And that was that. The tone, the dismissal. I mean, honestly, it felt. like the nurse was dismissing all. concerns and probably knew what was. going on. Mr. Jay thought, "Fine. If she's not. going to help me, I'm going to march. down here with all the other teachers. until she finally listens.". When he told a few of the other teachers. on his floor, they all avoided eye contact and they. were glancing at the walls. I mean, how. are you guys okay with this? Did you not. hear me? Do I need to repeat myself?

One of them sheepishly responded, "Yeah, but. what can we do about it, right?". Mr. Jay feels like he's losing his. freaking mind. Why is he the only one. shocked at what's going on? Why does it. feel like everyone is gaslighting him. into believing that this happens at. every school? It all goes back to the Inwa mafia. That's what everyone calls it. So, let. me give you the rundown on the Inwa. boarding school. Even though this is a. state government-funded program, it was. run like straight up like a mafia.

That's what the press would later dub. the administrators of this school, the. Inwa mafia. At the The of the food chain is the Inwa. family. One family runs the entire. school. Wow. The dad of the family is the. chairman. The wife, the mom of the. family, is the co-chairman. The first. son is the principal. The second son is. the vice principal. The third son is the. art teacher that likes to draw nude. photos. Their niece is the director of. student affairs. Their brother-in-law is. this. Everyone at the top that's not a.

regular schmregular teacher was part of. the family. That's why they feel like they can do. whatever. And nobody can even say a. thing. Not a thing. The family ran the. school. There was no checks and balances. because sure, if the head of. administration does something wrong, you. can report it to the principal. But. would you still report it if you knew. they were brothers? Probably not. Okay, but what if the teachers got. together to protest what's going on? Korea itself has a hierarchical society. Has a hierarchy in like just embedded.

into society. And it's very different. from the US where technically you have a. hierarchy. You're like, okay, there's a. manager, there's an assistant manager, there's the employee. It's nearly impossible to speak out. against your boss. So, what happens is. a lot of Korean companies don't like to. hire people. that disrupt business. Even if you're doing the right thing, if. it's disrupting business, you're not a. good employee. Mhm.

Bringing up allegations of abuse has. often been considered making waves. Which is crazy, okay? I'm not saying. this is proper or right. I'm giving you. context. This is crazy, okay? It's. considered making waves. And if you get. fired, you'd be blacklisted from the. industry. Your next employer won't care. that you were sticking up for vulnerable. students who were being abused. They will see you as someone who causes. problems. And remember how I said teaching is a. pretty prestigious career in Korea? Because of that, a lot of people want to. become a teacher, which means there's. not enough open positions. A lot of.

teachers at Inwa ended up there because. they had. they had no other option and the family. knew that. They exploited that. They would often force teachers to pay. for their spot. This is illegal. Especially if you Essentially, if you. don't want me to fire you and replace. you with someone else next semester, give me 10% of your paycheck back. The teachers were so terrified of the. Inwha family, they would bring them. gifts every week. This is so bizarre. But every week they were expected to. bring the family gifts and if they.

didn't, their names would be written on. the whiteboard in the office room. Kind. of like, "Hey, we know you didn't gift. us anything this week and also we're. going to publicly shame you.". Even during Chuseok, which is like. Thanksgiving. So, typically Koreans. might bow to the floor to show respect. This is the ultimate bow. So, you know. how Koreans in taught they say hello and. they go, "Annyeonghaseyo." right? The ultimate bow that I've only done a. few times in my life um primarily to. family like my aunts, uncles, my. parents. You get on your knees, your hands touch.

the ground and your forehead touches the. floor. This is the ultimate sign of gratitude, respect. Like you do this for people who. have given their lives to raise you. You. do this maybe for if you're religious, right? For people that have genuinely. saved you, made you who you are. You. don't do this for an employer. The teachers were expected to bow to the. family during special holidays. Okay, I. get it. There's a hierarchy in Korea, but this is bizarre. Like if you told. any Korean that they'd be like, "Are you. out of your mind? Like have you lost. your marbles? What are you talking.

about?" Most of the teachers at Inwha, they had their own families, they had. their own loved ones with medical bills, they had their own futures to look out. for. Most of them, I will give it to. most of the teachers, had no idea what. was going on. Remember, a good portion. of them don't speak sign language. The teachers don't live on campus. They. go home at the end of the day. The ones that lived on campus with the. kids, they were mainly. part of the administration. Side note, the family does have their own home, the. Inwa family, but I think they took turns. and they would have a few different.

teachers that would stay during the. weekends and the nights, but just keep. that in mind. But for the teachers that did know and. did nothing, I've no words. And so much of the abuse. seemed like it was on a scheduled basis, especially on the weekends when most of. the teachers were gone, the vice. principal would come into the dorm. rooms. He would play music really loudly. on speakers and assault the students. One victim said, "He forcefully kissed. me, so I got angry and I kicked him and.

I told him to get off, so he. he slapped me. And it wasn't just him, it seemed like everyone was in on it, the principal, the older brother, he was in on it. He was actually called the pervert by. the students. Yeah, his favorite thing was to make us. watch adult films with him. Again, I. can't I don't know if every single. family member of part of the Inwa family. participated in the abuse or if it was. just the sons, but I can't imagine that. the parents don't know. I can't imagine.

that the co-chairman, the wife, didn't. know. I feel like they knew. Even the. nurses were in on it. So, there was. another nurse at the school who helped. forge medical records of the students. when the administrators, the predators, needed it. This is wild. So, a predator assaulted a student and then. dragged her to get a nurse checkup to. prove that she had no recent sexual. activity. Like, what an odd thing to do, right? It's even more suspicious than. not doing anything at all, but he. dragged her there and demanded a. physical checkup on her private parts.

And I don't know what kind of school. nurse does these types of checkups, but. the parents were not alerted, they did. not give parental approval. The nurse did the quote exam and stated. that there was a tear in the hymen. Now, side note, that's not really proof that. she was our worded because hymens can. tear or break from even riding a bike, but the nurse initially wrote in a. report that there was a tear. Now, that doesn't prove if she did or. didn't have sexual encounters. That's. what the nurse wrote. And then mysteriously, the document was. updated by the nurse. The administrators.

clearly didn't like this. The did or. didn't lingo, it's too confusing. Did it. or did it not happen? The nurse changed it to read, "In my. professional opinion, I'm 100% certain. that no sexual act was committed.". Technically, you can't tell as a medical. professional. So, we could bring in the argument that. the nurse was bribed or threatened into. adding that, but my personal speculative. opinion is that he full well knew what. he was doing. A teacher brings in a young student in.

for a vaginal examination and the. parents and guardians are not present. and the teacher is un allegedly unhappy. with the inconclusiveness of the exam? You're telling me you don't know? It's really not hard to put the pieces. together. Another thing that makes this extra. horrendous is remember how it's a. state-funded school? It's funded by the. government. They get paid for the number. of students who attend. The more. students there, the more money the. family makes. More students to abuse and. more money. Not only were the Inwa. family abusers just disgusting, they.

were really greedy. Technically, the. school is a charity and they constantly. accepted donations from the public. People wanted to donate clothes, art. supplies, books, whatever it may be. And. what the school does reminds me of. you know, those really shady charity. stories that come out once in a while. about corrupt charities where you have. all the charity organizers pocketing the. money and just marketing to you. basically. They show you a picture of. this new state-of-the-art facility for. sheltered dogs and then you realize it's.

fake. That 90% of the dogs that they. rescue are kept in horrendous conditions. that you will never see. This is like a. set for ads, they say. It's like that at. Inwa. The teachers would take all the. donated shirts, do photoshoots with the. students, rip it off of them, and sell. these used shirts for cash. Like they. would make pennies on the dollar. They. weren't even selling it for much. It's. not like people are donating Dior. shirts. People are donating just. worn-out shirts. That's how greedy they. were. Every single penny, they refused.

to give it to the people that they're. making money from. Like it couldn't even be a shirt. They would even sell art supplies, used. school supplies, like three-ring. binders, they would sell it instead of. give it to the students. So the family would do anything to. protect protect their status and their. positions. Mr. Jay was going up against what felt. like a mountain as tall as Mount. Everest, but he was willing to do. anything to protect these kids. He didn't care if nobody stood behind.

him, if the nurses and the other. teachers wouldn't listen. The next step. was the police. So he went to the local police station. after work one day, and the police. listened intently as he's telling his. story of what he had heard. They listened, but it didn't seem like. they were taking any notes. And he questioned, "Why aren't you guys. writing this all down?". When he was done, the police doubted if. the students could even communicate. clearly what did or didn't happen to. them. How do you know it's not just. miscommunication?

What are you saying? Just because some. of the students are deaf or mute? Are. you serious right now? The police did contact the victims'. parents, and they asked the victims'. parents to get all the evidence, to go. gather all the evidence of the abuse so. that they can maybe feel inspired to do. their damn jobs. When the parents would try and argue the. police should be doing that, how were. they going to walk in and look for. evidence in a school? The police would casually just state, "Well, then I think this is a case for. the child services department, and not. us. You should take your complaints.

there.". CSD would send them back to the police. Everyone kept bouncing the case around. because it, quote, wasn't their. jurisdiction. It just reminds me so much. of this Huawai fairy case. Nobody wanted. to do their job. Nobody wanted to be. accountable for anything. The police were [ __ ] and they were. super abelist. This particular police. station avoided dealing with sexual. crimes against people with disabilities, not even just minors, everyone with. disabilities. These officers felt like. people with disabilities were. untrustworthy.

Wow. They said they always change their. stories. They stated, "If they have a mental. disability, how can they remember correctly?". Their job is to protect and serve the. population and here they are essentially. allowing crimes against one of the most. vulnerable groups of people. These. officers are just as bad as the. predators. So, the teachers wouldn't listen, the. school wouldn't listen, the police. wouldn't listen and Mr. J had one option. left and it was going to ruin his career.

and almost potentially ruin his entire. life. He went to the media. He called the local news, the media. outlets. He said he had insider. information on one of the biggest child. sexual assault scandals inside of a. school for disabled students. He worked closely with the network NBC. and together they were able to gather. nine victims that were willing to speak. up about what happened to them. I believe a few of them had graduated, but most of them were current students. and I can't emphasize enough how brave. these students are. Keep in mind, a lot.

of these kids live full-time on campus. They all have some degree of a hearing, speaking, or mental impairment and a. good majority of the kids had the mental. functioning level of a toddler. The teachers knew that. They used it to. their advantage. These kids were in the complete control. of the authority figures and they were. well aware of this. They were well aware. that they had no power. It was them up. against an entire school of wealthy. elite people with social power and. connections and all the tools available.

to communicate what they believed. happened and they still. agreed. to put their lives on the line. essentially. Many of the perpetrators were out in the. open once the documentary aired. So, NBC. aired this whole documentary about all. the crimes inside the Inhwa school. Now, I will say that this documentary wasn't. that explosive. People who cared cared, people who didn't care didn't care. It's. not like the movie. I think if this. documentary came out today, it would be. a whole thing. But back in the day,

people were just like, "Well, we don't. really know and it's not really our. business and I'm not even from that part. of town. How would I know?". And can we really go on a crusade? How. would we even organize something like. that? Many of the perpetrators, their names. were out in the open in the documentary. for the world to see and the crazy thing. is they had no shame. The vice principal, one of the more. heinous abusers inside that entire. administration, opened the door to his. home for documentary makers and let them. into the house. He was wearing nothing.

but his underwear. He sat down on his. living room floor. as if these are just family friends. coming over to play poker. He's wearing underwear only? Yeah. So, like they came over when he wasn't. working and he's like, "Yeah, yeah, come. in." He doesn't even go and get changed. He doesn't even like tell the intercom, "Hold on, I got to go put on some. clothes.". And he knows what they're here for. These journalists aren't lying. They're. not like, "Hey, we're here to deliver a. chair." They're like, "We are the NBC. producers. We want to talk to you about. this case.". So, it's not only that he doesn't he.

doesn't even care. He doesn't even think. this is going to affect how he looks. So, he doesn't even try to look serious. or anything. Yeah. He doesn't try to act. shocked, serious, or hurt. He just lets them in and says, "Just by listening to the kids'. so-called stories, like how can you guys. take this seriously? How can you come. over here and give us all a freaking. headache over some hearsay?". So, he's saying that the story is false. and that the victims are liars? Not exactly. He continues, "Well, the. nurses did it, too. The teachers were.

constantly abusing the kids. Oh my god, that there's this one teacher, I forget. his name, he stopped working there. Kwong something, okay? He did it, you. should ask him. I mean, even if the parents filed a. complaint, nothing happens, so. what do you want us to do? The kids have. nowhere else to go. We're the ones taking them in. I don't I know, you look so confused. I. was so confused and I was like, oh, maybe this is like a translation mistake. because I don't understand the thought. process. But he's basically saying in a. whiny tone as if the kids have nowhere.

else to go and being stuck there to be. abused somehow makes it better? Like, it's almost like a you're welcome, we're even taking them in. So what, it's not perfect. At least. we're taking them in, no one else wants. to take them in. I truly don't know what's going on with. his brain chemistry, but something is. clearly not right. Another incident really stood out to me. Um the vice principal again later was. interviewed by NBC and he bluntly, audaciously told them, "I already filed. all the claims.". I'm sorry, excuse me, what claims? For.

false allegations? It's not even an. arguable story really, but they made it. all up. I was so shocked when the students lied. I mean, how could they do that to me? How could they do that to me? When I talked to the students, I was. always encouraging. I always had good. intentions. They were always starved for. love. If my sin is being too nice and. too kind, then fine, that's my sin. This is all so ridiculous. So now you're saying you never committed. any crimes? Yep, never did, swear to. god.

Side note, at this point, the. principal's wife, so the vice. principal's sister-in-law, comes out and. is like, "Oh my god, you guys again? What's wrong with you guys? The case is. over.". He resigned. So the vice principal had. resigned after the documentary. He. resigned, okay? Get over it. Wow. And the vice principal pulled out a. letter and said, "See, I told you guys I. wasn't lying.". He pulled out a paper and held it for. the producers like a proud little rat. Like I don't know how else to describe. him. I'm sorry. But he's like showing it.

off this piece of paper and it reads, "Eugene, one of the victims, did not. have sex with the head of. administration." That's literally what. it reads and she signed it along with. six other signatures of students that. were witnesses and guarantors. Ignoring the fact that minor signatures. are not legally binding, this is so. messed up for so many reasons. Can you. imagine the amount of fear that Eugene. went through when he are worded her and. now the are worder is pressuring her. into signing this document and the fact. that she still had to see him, she still.

had to talk to him. She was 11. But he claimed he didn't pressure her at. all. He said, "No, no, no. I just very. nicely asked her why she said the things. that she said and she admitted to me. that Mr. Jay forced her to lie." Yeah. Forced her to lie. You know, these are like the worst. people. These kids needs more love and. attention, right? They don't even treat. them as equals. They already have a. viewpoint of these kids and then they. took advantage of it and started a.

school just so they can take advantage. make money off them. So I don't think. they started this for the right reason. They started this for this evil reason. Oh, yeah. To make money off of them. advantage of them. Yeah. Yeah, and then they're like, "Oh, well, we're also predators, so this is great.". they're saying, "No, we are at least. doing the good thing, guys." I mean, it's obvious that they are just monsters. in all of this. And the fact that they. made a bunch of kids sign a document. And I think it's also the audacity that. he's holding up this piece of paper. like, "I told you so.". What are you talking about? Like no one.

in the court of law is going to go say, "Oh my god, that victim that's so scared. of you? I guess that is a pretty legal. piece of document.". He says, "I even have a video recording. of her admitting that it was all lies.". Thankfully, producers went to find. someone else that was at that quote. meeting and they're all a bunch of kids. One of Eugene's friends said that the. room there was so much pressure. They. kept telling Yujin, "Tell me the truth. Tell me the truth.". And they suddenly got angry and started. to hit Yujin.

She told them the truth and they said, "No, that's not what we want you to. say." They wanted her to deny that the. artwork ever happened. They said that. they will be so nice to her if she said. so. I thought something was wrong because if. they don't have any sins, why would they. need to hit us? So, even after that, the student doesn't. really understand what was happening. They know it's wrong. They know that the. administrators bullying Yujin is wrong, but they don't really They can't They're. too young to grasp the concept of why.

they're even doing that. So, it's not a moment of these students. being like, "See, they're trying to get. us to change our story because they're. in trouble." It's a moment for students. being like, "Wait. No, but this is the. truth, so now it's so weird and. confusing and we don't understand what's. going on." Mhm. It was later revealed that the. administrators convinced older students. to literally waterboard victims and. witnesses if they were talking to the. press. Literally waterboard. Take them to the laundry room and. waterboard them. Thankfully, even if Yujin had to.

formally recant her statement later in. the trial, because of this coerced. letter, it was just too iffy to use her. as a testimony. There were students that. witnessed her assault through the office. window. They even saw the wiping with the. tissues, the Coke the cup of Coke part. They stated clearly for producers that. Yujin was screaming, "No, no, no.". And that part. is going to become devastating. The fact that she was screaming, "No.". Just keep this in mind.

So, obviously, when the coercion didn't. work, the vice principal asked to meet. with Mr. Jay in a hotel lobby and begged. him to negotiate with the. administration. If Mr. Jay was to just. admit that he made all the kids lie, he. could get all the benefits that he would. ever dream of. He could be the next vice. principal, for crying out loud, if he. wanted. The vice principal said, "I'm the. chairman's son. Being on my good side, it would be really good for you.". Mr. Jay rejected it, and the head of. administration, you know, he's married, the vice principal is married. He's. doing all of this with a wife and kids,

and what's crazier is that the wife is. sticking by his side. His wife comes out. and begs, pleads with Mr. Jay, and she. says, "My husband is not responsible for. any of this. He did not do it. He could. go to prison for a really long time. because of this. Please, you have to. help us.". Mr. Jay declined, and he went to the. media and told them what happened. The school was super pissed with all the. negative press that they were getting. They didn't even care about doing damage. control. They just felt rage. So, they. fired Mr. Jay on the spot.

They responded to journalists, "Deaf. people always lie.". Wow. "Deaf people always lie. It's in their. nature. They lie as much as they eat.". I was so shocked at this line. Okay, "They lie as much as they eat" is such a. I don't know if it comes off in the. translation, but in Korean, it's such a. disgusting way to describe something. Mhm. It's like you don't even see them as. humans. You see them as like animals.

They said, "Teachers who I know also. said the same thing as me. Deaf people. always act however they want for their. own comfort. They only think about the. present moment. That's why they lie, and. that's why we should never trust them. That's usually a firm iron rule in this. industry." Can you imagine? This is like. the. the care um. What are they called? caretaker of these like Can you imagine? Yeah. What I don't understand is.

Yeah. I don't know. Like. do they think it's okay to say that, too? That's what I'm saying. And I think. like Okay, I think they are evil. They. are monsters, and they did receive a lot. of backlash, but whatever the community, whatever bubble they're in. made them feel that was appropriate. So, it's not just the person saying it. that's wrong. There must be people. behind this family that are like, "Yeah, I totally agree with you." They must. have family friends that they go out to. eat dinner with and complain about the. students that literally are their.

livelihood, and everyone must say, "Yeah, you're totally right." I just. can't imagine what that community of. their friends or those closest to them. are like if they think that this. is okay to say in public to producers. Probably making fun of them all the time. and. Yes. jokes around and So, like I said, we're probably covering a small. percentage of the abuse that truly. happened. The school was open for over. 50 years. It's 50 years of abuse we're talking. about, and I'm sure it's just horrific.

to the point where I don't think any of. the general population knows truly the. full extent of what happened. He said that with his full chest, and I. have no words. I don't think people could be even more. enraged. Parents of the school and the. victims staged a sit-in. They demanded. something to happen. It just I mean, the police hadn't gotten. involved. Mr. Jay was fired. The. perpetrators are still working with. children and getting paid by the. government. The people who saw the. documentary, they were mad, but it. wasn't enough. It was still up to the parents to fight.

They just wanted the school to shut. down. They spent 8 months, 8 months of. their lives on pause. living in front of the school on the. street. They set up tents. They held signs that read, "Life is hard. enough with a disability. How dare you? Harsh punishments for sexual predators.". In a gut-wrenching moment, the parents. would protest in a full bow. On their knees, forehead touching the. hot cement, scraping their hands, palms,

knees, everything on the cement. This. position is really hard to keep. They're doing this nonstop begging the. public to help them. For hours in the heat, this is what they. did. Sometimes students join them and they. would wait outside the school gates with. cartons of eggs and cake. When the Inwa. family would walk through the gates, they would egg them and then throw flour. on them. You've most likely seen this in. K-dramas. It's a real practice. It's one. of the more severe social shame bullying.

tactics and normally I'm against it, but. I can't say that I'm mad on this case. And this is when media turned. Really random articles started coming. out about how ungrateful students at. this school were. The articles were. basically fluff pieces for the Inwa. family, probably on their payroll. They. would write things like, "I mean, I get. it. The students are upset, but this is. still a working principle at the end of. the day. We need to respect our teachers. and elders. What are we teaching. society?". And they would say things like, "This is. a school that took them in when nobody. else did.".

Wow. I really hate that sentiment. I. really hate that sentiment. What does. that even mean? No, they were getting rich off this. school. They were getting rich off this school. I'm sure if given the chance, there are. so many people who genuinely genuinely. want to help these students that don't. have the proper connections or maybe. they don't even have the proper. education and that's why they can't. And because the school was still. operating, the principal gathered up all. the students that egged him and forced. them to write apology letters. This guy. wants apology letters for getting egged.

Oh, yeah. I mean, they were the driest apology. letters that I have ever. read in the history of my life, which. like good for them, right? But they. would write things like, "I'm sorry to. the principal for making him. uncomfortable. Dear principal, we're. sorry that we threw red paint at you. We're sorry that we egged you. From now. on, we'll do the right things." The. principal was pissed. He started to. physically abuse them again. He would. line up the students and slap them. around and scream, "Because your parents. are out there protesting and doing that. weird [ __ ] now you're getting hit in. here. Just know that this is because of.

your parents. No way, they're still inside? Yes. They have nowhere else to go. Finally, the protest gathered enough. public interest and got enough civilians. riled up that the police were pressured. into launching an investigation. After a few months, Korean law. enforcement arrested six Inhwa school. administrators and teachers. They were. going to court. Nine victims were going to testify. The. National Human Rights Center sent. representatives to help prepare the.

victims and go through their trauma. Now, trial number one, there were a lot of rough details that. came out during all of this. Just really. rough allegations of abuse, you know, that I'm talking watching adult films, forcing them to. kiss and just really nasty, nasty stuff. I mean, most of which we've already. covered. All of it is like coming out. into the open during the trial in its. full gruesome details. Another student, let's call her Sumin, she was one of the girls that would get.

invited over to the teachers' homes. This is very sick and twisted. So, think. about how vile the psychology behind. these monsters are. The vice principal would want to abuse. his student. He does it in the school, but it's not enough. He wants to now. bring that student into his home that he. shares with his wife and kids. He forces. that student to eat dinner with his. whole family while he tells his wife. about how good of a student Sumin is. After dinner, the teacher, the vice. principal, suggests that his wife and. kids go run some quick errands while he. and Sumin go over some practice tests.

He then assaults the student in his own. home. I feel like there's some sick. psychology behind that. Yeah. Like the risk it would take to. even bring the students home, and the. whole dinner, like. it's so sick and twisted to me. Like, what are you getting out of it? It's. like something is wrong with you. Yeah. Cuz he's getting something out of it. And it didn't just happen once, it. happened multiple times to Sumin alone, and I can't imagine she was the only one. that this vice principal did this to.

If the girl refused to go to his house, he would beat her and our word her in. the school for retaliation. So, there. was no winning. Speaking of retaliation, those who ever. looked like they would think about. talking about the abuse, they were beaten to a pulp. The physical. abuse in this school alone would have. warranted a trial. There is some photo. evidence of it. I'm not going to show it. because these again are um a lot a lot. of it would happen. on. the bottoms. Like the butt, right? Of and they're.

minors, so I'm not going to show that, but there's a um it's just. there's no part that looks like skin. anymore. It's just blue, deep purple, like. yellow, but not in like the yellow. undertone, like the bruising yellow. It looks like it was done with some sort. of long cane. So many of the parents of the victims. actually knew about all of this, but. they themselves struggled with mental or. physical disabilities, and they knew. that the police would never believe them.

because they weren't able-bodied. So, they felt like their best way to. protect their child was to help them. feel better and would teach them how not. to cause trouble. And what's so sad is and I think like. these parents are always teaching these. kids. how not to. be a burden to able-bodied people. And that kind of mindset is so. heartbreaking cuz. like that's not how we should think at.

all. One victim's grandmother cried out, "How. can intellectual people do this? How do they even dare do something like. this? The perpetrators were intellectual. people. My granddaughter is deaf and she cannot. speak a word. How can he do that to her? Do they feel no pity towards her? If there there no laws, I would find the. perpetrator and tear them apart with my. own two hands. She is a kid who cannot. even speak. Do you remember Soyoung at the beginning. of the story? She was assaulted and then.

given $2 $2. She would tell the. principal what happened and he ignored. her, right? She ended up graduating and. tried to move on with her life. She got. married, had a child. And she said every day all she thought. about was the abuse. Even with her. husband, she said it wasn't until the. trial that she told him what actually. happened. She was so worried that he. would feel ashamed of her. She thought that he'd be upset with her. And she was so scared and thankfully he. was a normal morally upstanding person. He held her hand, he listened to her and.

when she was done his face was soaking. wet with tears and he told her, "None of. this is your fault.". He told reporters, "I was so angry after. what I heard. I wanted to wipe out all. the teachers. I just want to see them. one time face-to-face.". During the trial, the defense did some. insane things. Their line of questioning. towards Soyoung and another one who also. was a victim, grew up, got married, and. had a child, the lawyers asked. These are the perpetrators defense. attorneys. They asked, "How can you get. married and pregnant if you had ever.

been our worded?". I'm sorry, what? Their logic in this was, if a person who. is our worded, they can never fall in. love and get pregnant due to the trauma. They believed if someone is truly. traumatized sexually, they can never. heal from it and there's no way that. they could ever be intimate ever again. Therefore, if the victims got pregnant, there was no way that they were ever our. worded as kids. Another really infuriating detail to. note is it's going to be important. throughout the trial. Most of the. students in the school were using sign. language to communicate and to put it. nicely, their sign language education.

and vocabulary was questionable at best, detrimental at worst. Many of the. teachers in the school didn't even know. sign language. How do you expect the. students to learn? I mean, regardless of the case or not, that is so devastating that they aren't. even taught the ways to express their. emotions and feelings, like most people. can. It's such a disservice. The students had a limited range of. expression, including words to describe. the exact series of events. And.

just. they were too young to even understand. what really happened to them. They were. they just kept signing that they felt. icky. They felt icky. Other students said it. was so sad cuz these kids they would go. up on the stand and they would start. getting so frustrated with themselves. that they can't express what happened to. them. Because they weren't given the tools. And again, I just want to disclaim that. sign language is a complete language and.

the reason that they couldn't express it. was not because sign language didn't. have the words, but they weren't taught. that. Even if there were all the ways in the. world for the kids to accurately express. themselves, they weren't taught any of. it. Spectators said, "The worst part was. they ended up having to act out a lot of. what happened because they just couldn't. sign it.". Yeah. There were also issues with the initial. trial where the interpreters that the. prosecutors got so this is on the.

government's end. I don't know why they. did this. The interpreters barely knew. sign language. So people who knew sign language that. were spectating the trial, they're like, "What is going on?" So the prosecutors. were would ask, "Why would the teacher. do this?". The interpreter would say, "Why would. the teacher do this?". The student would respond and then the. prosecutor would ask, "Okay, what did he. do?". But then this the interpreter would just. say, "Why did he do this?" So the kid is. like, "Why they look confused? Like, why. are you you just asked me this. I'm so.

confused." And because they're so young. and vulnerable, they feel like, "Oh, maybe they're going. to keep asking me until they like my. answer.". So sometimes they would keep changing. their answer cuz it's like, why else. would they keep asking me that? Yeah. But that's not what the prosecutor was. asking. The interpreters sucked. It got. to the point where all of the other. students that were showing up in support. were like slamming their hands on. tables, like getting so frustrated. And. another nuance to note that I think is. very important is that when you are.

testifying, especially when a young. person is testifying, they. When you're vulnerable, you normally. hold your hands around your body in sort. of like a protective gesture. Or maybe you don't make eye contact. Maybe you're crying and you're trying to. keep a straight face and remove all. emotion as you're recounting the series. of events, right? But the nature of sign. language that the children were using, they had to pull their hands and arms. away from their body to talk. They had. to leave their torsos uncovered, which. made them even more vulnerable.

subconsciously. And to describe the. emotions and actions, they can't just. verbally say, "He lifted my shirt." So. like I said, with the rudimentary and. whole-souled sign language that they. were using and that they were taught, they had to mime it out. So they would even lift up their own. shirt in the court to to really show. what happened. And another thing that's constantly. taught to those that are learning sign. language is that facial expressions are. part of sign language. Because I think with um with speak.

spoken language, you have the tone. inflections that kind of indicate the. mood or the vibe that you're trying to. communicate across. With sign language, because the hand motions could mean. similar things, you're using your face. to express the emotion that you want the. viewer to understand. Mhm. I mean, even with tone inflections, if. you have a someone who's speaking in. monotone, it's kind of hard to. understand what type of emotion you're. supposed to feel. So it's very important. and to feel to recreate those facial.

expressions without personally being. back in that trauma, I think is. impossible. So, the whole trial, they're reliving. the trauma. They're basically ripping their heart. bare to the court, and everyone was. under the belief of okay, this is really. bad, but the kids are doing their part, and the adults are going to do our part, and we're going to fight for justice, and this worthy sentence will show the. world that they can never do this again. It'll be a landmark case. Right?

The principal was given 2 years and 10. months. The vice principal, one of the. more heinous people involved in all of. this, was given 8 months. Two nurses. were given 10 months each, and most of. these were then commuted to probation. instead of jail time. How? Yeah, I'm going to get into it. Legal. stuff. The judge wasn't even a bad. person. The judge straight up kept. apologizing to the victims because there. was nothing he could legally do. It was shocking. It was shocking. The case could be. classified as two crimes. Crimes. prosecutable upon complaint. So, in.

South Korea, essay, especially against. minors at the time, legally, you. couldn't do it until the minors. complained or pressed charges. Now, the. way that the prosecutors were trying to. go about this case is they were trying. to get the perpetrators jailed for a. very specific law, which is essay. against people with disabilities. Why is that important? Why didn't they. just do essay? Well, because essay is. not a felony in South Korea. At least at. the time it wasn't. So, most people were.

getting like probation for essay. For. raping people? Yes, but if you did this for a minor. with a disability, you would more likely. get jail time. This was probably as harsh as the. sentence gets. Oh, wow. And they couldn't do. essay against a minor because the. statute of limitations at the time was 1. year. 1 year. So, this kid endured the most. traumatic thing that a human can ever. endure, really, and they have 1 year to.

show up in court and lay their heart. bare and do all these things. Otherwise, your time is up. Can you. imagine having a ticky ticking time. clock. like over your head? Yes, cuz. you just ruined a kid's life. Yeah. and in return, as long as nothing. happens in a year, you're free to go. Yeah. When you just ruined a human being's. life forever, altered their life. forever. Now, thankfully, there is no statute of. limitations or at least not um a 1-year.

one for if they are children with. disabilities. Now, here's the disgusting. part. The premise of all of this. is that people with disabilities, this. is where the ableism comes into strong. play. The law is written that a person. with a disability cannot fight back or. say no. That's how they describe a. disability. So, even if you're able to. sign no, even if you're able to shake. your head no, or scream for help, even. if you are disabled and yet you can. still speak and say, "Please stop." or.

scream, "Somebody help me.". then you cannot technically. be a part of this law. So, let's take Yudin's case. Her. abductor held her down and assaulted. her. She did have a disability that is. listed as severe. However, there were. witnesses that testified that she. multiple times stated, "No, no, I don't. want this." So, she said no, and because. physically she could say no, she no. longer qualified for the specific clause. that she was a child with a disability. Now, essay against a child, they.

couldn't do it because the statute of. limitations was up. So, they got like nothing. Once the statement was signed to all the. people in the court, so the victim's. parents, fellow students, and I want to. say this with like I'm trying to phrase. this with as much respect and. sensitivity as possible, but. if you know or have been around a deaf. person, being deaf doesn't mean being. mute. A lot of deaf people still have. the capabilities of producing sound. And.

since they've never heard spoken. language, it's next to impossible for. them to mimic it. Because they can't hear the language, right? Which means if they're deaf from. birth, they typically can't speak a. spoken language, but they still make. sounds. And they can still yell, they. can still wail, they can still cry. But again, since they've never heard. someone else do it, like this is how. humans are created. You know, so much is. hearing. Even babies, so much is hearing, right?

Because they haven't heard people yell, it's a different sort of sound that. comes out when they yell, and I don't. know how to describe it, but I think. that's how humans were supposed to yell. It's almost like. a visceral, like the purest form of a. yell that I can describe. It's like guttural. It's so raw. And I think you feel the grief, and it's. just it's different, like it stays with. you. And that day the entire courtroom was.

filled with the grief of the victims, and a reporter wrote, "The moment that we heard the verdict, the courtroom was filled with the. indescribable sounds from all the. people.". After the trial, the school was still. opened, and after probation, all the. administrators were back running the. school. They were back around students, cuz technically, they had the right to. hire whoever they wanted. There was no. legal clause that said, "Hey, you can't. be a teacher or an administrator at a. school if you have this in your criminal.

history.". Side note, Mr. Jay had to flee the. country because he was attacked during. this whole thing. Yeah, the defense. attorney like came out with some crazy. allegations against him. I don't even. know how that was allowed in court, but. And the public, you know, they were. enraged by this verdict, but what can. they do? Their lives moved on. So, the public, they were were but they. moved on. Until the movie came out. And this film was a box office hit. It. had an audience of 4.7 million viewers, which doesn't sound like a lot,

but that's 10% of South Korea's. population. Wow. Yeah. Even the president at the time saw the. movie. Another person who watched the. movie was the South Korea's National. Police Agency Commissioner, General Cho. General Cho. got right to work. He formed a special team to investigate. the school, and he was really sneaky. with it. I don't even think that the. school knew that they were being watched. again. They just knew like the movie. came out and they were like, "Ugh, bad. press.". Meanwhile, netizens were going growing. increasingly upset, and they wrote.

things like, "What? In order to punish a. trash criminal, the victim has to make a. movie or a novel and make every single. person in the country angry? That's how the justice system works now? We all have to get so emotionally. invested in every case?". The public put so much social pressure. on the police department that the Inwha. School sexual assault case was. officially reopened, and it was. it was a lot. Now, there were They. couldn't gather the same victims because. that's double jeopardy. They can't be. tried for the same crimes against the. same victims. Like I said, double. jeopardy. So, they started focusing on.

different victims. And the victims now. were being represented by a huge human. rights attorney, E Mang Sok. If you saw this man walking down the. street in Korea, you would think he's. just a random ajussi, like middle-aged. man. He tackled some of the biggest human. rights cases in South Korea. When an 8-year-old, known to the nation. by her alias Na-young-i, was brutally assaulted in a public. restroom, do you remember that case? Mhm. To the point where she was left. permanently disabled, he represented the 8-year-old.

He was the reason that the perpetrator. even got any jail time. He really cared about the kids, and this. man was smart. Mr. Lee knew that every. case needs a villain's face. You know, that's how it is. That's why big. corporations are harder to be canceled. online than a celebrity, because with a. celebrity, you have a face. You can. attach these emotions to a face. With. corporations, it's a board of directors. It's a board of investors, executives. Every story needs a villain, and he. thought the problem was the. administration was too big of a villain. Mhm. So, they singled out the vice.

principal. That would be the face of. their case. But, the problem is he can't be tried. again for the exact crimes because of. double jeopardy. So, lawyer Lee does. something different. He was going to get. the children treatment, therapy. First of all, he was the first person to. have any care about their futures. He. wanted them on the path to healing. But, not only that, he wanted to do something. that was never done before. A landmark. case. He was going to sue the. perpetrators for inflicting injury. What. injury? Mental trauma.

This would be the first time in South. Korea that someone would sue for mental. like emotional distress. Mhm. after a crime. Okay. Because usually during the court. trials, people would talk about the. physical injuries, but they would never. really even acknowledge the mental. trauma that would linger for the rest of. their lives. So, now he was solely going. to use that because there is no statute. of limitations for inflicting injuries. And he was going to argue this was an. injury.

And the statute of limitations would. start the day they get diagnosed with. the injury. So, they needed some sort of trauma. diagnosis. And he wanted to bring in the best of. the best because these kids were living. on social welfare. They didn't have. funds. His friend was a psychiatric a. psychiatry professor at Yonsei. University. This is like Korea's Johns. Hopkins, if you will. And Yonsei is a public institution, and. the hospital that they had near the. school cuz they have hospitals all over.

the country. They were underfunded and understaffed, even though they're one of the biggest. institutions. It sounds easy, but this. professor had to work with so many. people at Yonsei and they had to move so. many schedules around. Everyone worked. overtime to get these students in. And. as they were waiting. cuz these students cannot be diagnosed. unless they are inpatient. As they're. waiting for everything to work out, the. doctors and nurses on that floor that. would be in contact with these students,

they obviously couldn't learn that much, but they learned "Hi, thank you. Are you. hungry? Are you sleepy? Are you okay? Do. you need anything?" inside language. They were able to get volunteer drivers. People in the community stepped up. Um. there's a lot of students. They would. need to be driven from hospital to. hospital, from lawyer appointment to. court dates. People volunteered to drive them around. and just get them to these places. People volunteered to drive the parents. around to be able to make sure that.

they're there. And the kids were all sadly diagnosed. with some sort of PTSD from the abuse. The only silver lining of that diagnosis. would be that now lawyerly could. aggressively go after the abusers. If they won, this would change the. country, really. He even told the judge in the courtroom, "Please take a close look at the. victims' eyes, their voice, their facial. expressions and body reactions. Even if. you don't speak sign language, even if. you can't understand the words that the.

victims are saying, you don't need to. understand the words to know what kind. of pain that they've been through.". He would tell the attorneys on his team. and the interpreters, "Don't ask. difficult words, abstract words, or long. sentences. Don't ask short-answered. questions like yes or no answers. Ask. them questions in an open manner.". This time, a bunch of very, very. capable, competent interpreters. volunteered to be a part of this case. They had the Sexual Violence Counseling. Center work on this. They had. psychiatrists from Yonsei,

psychologists, sign language. interpreters, drivers, court like. everyone. Basically, Yonsei University. was backing these kids. Everyone volunteered their time and. effort and expertise. And it worked. The judge accepted the. infliction of injury charge, and the. vice principal, the worst of them all, the one that had gotten 8 months, he got 12 years in prison. It's still small, but the court back in. Korea, um.

back in the day and still today, not very inclined to send someone to. jail for more than 10 years for a small. crime, even if it's some of the most. heinous. But he still tried to appeal his. sentence saying that it was too harsh. Thankfully, it was denied. But still, the rest got virtually no punishment. The good news is the school was shut. down, and the students were sent to. other boarding schools. Um a lot changed. though. But one victim's parent said, "Assault. on a child is like murdering a soul.

The physical and mental wound remains. forever. The offender can avoid punishment after. a certain period because of the statute. of limitations, but for the kid, it's. the rest of their lives.". But Korea got to work. Civilians started advocating and. protesting the change to the assault. law. So, there is a clause in basically. all assault laws at the time that said, "Did they fight back?" They said that. shouldn't even be a question, especially. with minors and particularly minors with. disabilities. So, that's in the works. And prior to.

this, if a victim of assault did not. formally press charges or sue the. perpetrator, the police would do. nothing. That has also been changed. Now, police are allowed to go after. these abusers without the victim being. involved, which is a very good thing. because that's just retraumatizing them, right? Especially right after. And like. the way that some of these trials were. going on, it was weird. There was also. another law put in place that said that. if you were a state-funded institution, like a welfare establishment, you cannot. hire only family members. 1/3 of hires. have to be outsiders, which I get. It's.

like a good step in the direction, but. not enough. Like imagine going up. against two-thirds of an institution and. they're one big family. So, things have changed. But, I think that this is still. something that every South Korean. probably feels a lot of pain about. It's definitely a very. It It was a movie and it was a case that. I think changed everyone. Just like this. Hwayeon fairy case, just like even. Itaewon. I think a lot of areas and a. lot of countries have these moments.

where people just the civilians get fed. up. and they start putting their foot down. and I think this was one of them. Before I finish up the episode, let me. tell you about the principal's thesis. paper that was later uncovered by. netizens. The principal of Inhwa, one of the abusers, wrote a huge thesis. paper on how important it is to take. care of disabled people. He wrote, "In order to help students. with disabilities, treatment and. rehabilitation has to be given from. someone who loves them from the heart.

It is the caretaker's job to secure the. student's uncertain future without a. single ounce of regret. Caretakers. should serve in the role of a helping. hand in place of the disabled.". A helping hand, he said. If that's how he gives a helping hand, I. think we should all hope that he gets a. handful of care. every single day for the rest of his. miserable life. And that is it for today's episode. Please stay safe. and I will see you guys on Wednesday for.

the main episode. Bye.