Lee Hye-sung reveals she was a victim of school bullying, saying 'It was unbearable'

Lee Hye-sung, a broadcaster and former announcer, confessed to being a victim of school bullying.

On Oct. 30, a video titled "You Cannot Be Loved by Everyone | The Courage to Be Disliked" was posted on the YouTube channel 'Lee Hye-sung's 1% Book Club.' The video featured Lee explaining the book "The Courage to Be Disliked."

"The Courage to Be Disliked" is a book written by Koga Fumitake and Ichiro Kishimi, which presents Alfred Adler's philosophy in the form of a dialogue between a young man and a philosopher. It was released in South Korea in 2014 and became a domestic bestseller in the first half of 2015.

In the video, Lee shared her experience of being subjected to school bullying during her student days. She said, "If you think school is the only place you can stay, it becomes incredibly painful when you are bullied. I have been through it myself. That situation was extremely painful and difficult."

She continued, "If you realize that there is a bigger world outside of school, you will come to understand that such pain is merely temporary.Suffering in a group is not your fault, so it is okay to cut ties with that connection and move on to another place."

She then said, "When I was young, I never thought about things like this. There were no adults who would say such things to me. I could not read books like this either. So whenever I meet friends or people in similar situations in the future, I have always wanted to make sure to share these words with them."

She further added, "You are an incredibly valuable person, so you do not need to keep staying in such a trivial group. You are a person of value who can find happiness by joining a group that fits you better. Please never make any strange choices."

Netizens who watched the video left comments such as, "I feel at ease thanks to your advice," "It is fortunate that you, Hye-sung, overcame it well," and "We support you, Hye-sung."

Lee graduated from the Department of Business Administration at Seoul National University before joining KBS in 2016 as a 43rd-generation public recruitment announcer. After leaving KBS in 2020, she has worked as a broadcaster, appearing on programs such as "Devil's Plan" and "Naked World History."