'She Wanted to Look Emaciated and Small'

Netflix’s The Glory K-drama tackles the reality of severe school bullying, and its long-term effects as the leading female character enacts her revenge plan. Writer Kim Eun-sook developed the storyline thanks to her daughter and researching bullying cases. One of the K-drama’s most emotional scenes is when the female lead reveals her scarred body. Actor Song Hye-kyo’s portrayal of the scene went beyond what The Glory K-drama writer expected.

Dong-eun reveals her burn scars to Yeo-jeong in ‘The Glory’ Episode 6

The Glory K-drama is tagged with a 19+ rating due to its extreme scenes of violence and mistreatment. Fans will have a hard time watching as a teenage Dong-eun is held down by her bullies. The main bully, Yeon-jin, wants to curl her hair but is unsure if the curling iron is hot enough. She and her friend test it by severely burning Dong-eun on various parts of her body.

Another scene later reveals the gravity of the burns as Dong-eun is contemplating dying by suicide. Instead, she breaks down and finds relief lying on the snow-covered ground. The burn scars become Dong-eun’s symbol of the pain she endured and what drives her revenge.

In The Glory Episode 6, Dong-eun (Song Hye-kyo) has a panic attack at the mechanic’s shop. She visits Yeo-jeong (Lee Do-hyun) and reveals the truth about her past and her revenge. To prove she will not stop, she shows him her burned arm. While looking at the scars, he realizes more are under her sleeve.

Dong-eun stands and begins to remove her clothes while bathed in the moonlight. For the first time, she shows someone the reality of her pain. Moved and angered, Yeo-jeong vows that moment to become her executioner. The K-drama scene in The Glory is an emotionally impactful one made possible due to actor Song’s dedication to the physical portrayal of her character.

Song Hye-kyo lost weight to bring K-drama writer Kim Eun-sook’s vision to life in ‘The Glory’

In a behind-the-scenes Netflix video with The Glory K-drama cast, writer Kim reveals Song’s scarred body scene had her in tears. When approaching Song with the role of Dong-eun and the scars scene, writer Kim explained, “So when we offered the role to Hye-kyo, I told her that I really need that scene, but it might be uncomfortable for her.”

Song soon became dedicated to portraying the heartache of Dong-eun’s pain through the physicality of her body. “She asked me to give her just two months. I asked if she was going to exercise, and she said, ‘No, I have to lose more weight then.’ She wanted to look emaciated and small instead of looking pretty in that scene,” said Kim. Song stuck to a die of Konjac rice, a type of porridge.

But Song’s dedication to The Glory K-drama astounded Kim and brought her to tears. “I was so grateful for her efforts and also felt bad. So it made me really tear up when I saw the completed scene. “Song commented that when receiving the role, she did not think to look “pretty.” Dong-eun is consumed with the darkness of her past and revenge that she does not think about looking pretty.

Song also explains that she wanted fans to feel bad for Dong-eun when seeing her skinny physicality. It is the physical toll of Dong-eun’s broken self.

‘The Glory’ scarred body scene is similar to a real-life case in Korea

The Glory is not the only K-drama inspired by real-life events to tell its dark storyline. There are many crime K-dramas based on real-life murder cases and serial killers. Netflix’s D.P. is based on the real-life stories of severe mistreatment in the Korean military by superiors and fellow soldiers on each other. There is no denying that South Korea has, for a long time, had a problem with bullying in various forms, from physical mistreatment to online harassment.

Since the premiere of The Glory, netizens have realized Dong-eun’s burn story is similar to a real-life event from 17 years ago. According to The Korean Herald, a similar bullying case occurred at a girls’ middle school in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, in May 2006.

Three ninth-graders bullied a classmate for 20 days. The scope of the mistreatment included stealing the victim’s money, beating her, scratching, and checking the temperature of a curling iron on her body. The victim reported in an interview that her bullies would also peel the burn scabs and not allow them to heal. The Glory writer likely read about the case in her research for the drama.

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