Just after three days, ‘The Glory’ took 5th place on Netflix, receiving positive feedback for its realistic portrayal of school bullying. The TV series was a clear reflection of South Korea’s infamous school bullying crisis, where approximately 32,000 cases of bullying were reported in 2019. While the public strongly demands retributive justice, experts have also highlighted the importance of psychological approaches to school violence. 

Referring to the ‘individual psychology’ theory coined by Alfred Adler, psychologists have focused on the ‘inferiority complex’ to explain the occurrence of school bullying. According to Adler, humans wish to be socially meaningful beings in society. Therefore, if individuals feel insignificant, they acquire inferiority complexes, leading to extreme methods of attention-seeking.

According to experts, when students feel uncertainty and hopelessness regarding their future, many teenagers’ resort to deviant behavior in order to make up for the void and feel superior. Furthermore, children may be susceptible to the false belief that in order to seek attention from their family or classmates, they must redeem their social status even in negative ways. In this case, some students decide to oppress and harass others, rather than practicing positive behavior.

However, Alfred Adler's ‘individual psychology’ theory does not justify deviant behavior with the inferiority complex. Rather, the Adlerian therapy approach highlights how therapists and psychologists can develop individual personalities more positively. The method focuses on acknowledging one’s inferiority and finding ways to accept their imperfections, ultimately rehabilitating individuals back to society. 

Adler’s approach leaves a question for our society. Will stronger and stricter retribution toward teenagers solve the problem of school violence?

신시준 강남포스트 학생기자  webmaster@ignnews.kr

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