[Exclusive] “Kim Hi, school violence? I was also a bystander” Classmate L’s confession of conscience [Direct interview]

[Star News | [Reporter Seong-yeol Yoon]

In the midst of a heated battle over the truth of the school violence surrounding actress Kim Heera, another classmate of Kim Heera came forward to testify. L, who was a classmate of Kim Hee-ra in the third grade of middle school, said, “I wish (the public) would listen to more people’s stories. I am a good friend, but it is a pity.”

L has no interest in either the group (A, B, C, D) that first reported to Dispatch, nor with H (or E, F, and G who hung out with H), who claimed to be victims of school violence in the call transcript additionally obtained by Dispatch. did. Kim Heera, whom L remembers, was a friend who worked hard at both studying and playing during his school days.

L, who responded to a phone interview with Star News on the 11th, said, “(Kimhi) Eora was a friend who left a strong first impression because he had a strong mixed-race feeling,”and added, “No matter what he did, even if he stayed still, he was a child who attracted attention even if he didn’t show it.”He said. L continued, “Having fun is not something she likes. She gets along well with her friends, and when there are school events, she goes to school hard.”

L said that he knew the identity of H, which sparked controversy over the credibility of his testimony as a victim of school violence. H claimed that he was continuously assaulted by Kim Heera, but Kim Heera’s side denied it, saying, “The argument was due to a mistake and misunderstanding.”Afterwards, A and B, who reported Kim Heera’s school days to Dispatch but withdrew their report, also testified through Daily Sports that “H was the perpetrator.”Even in L’s memory, H was not a very good image.

L said, “(after seeing H’s article), to be honest, I was quite shocked. If he had done something like that, he would have been criticized no matter who it was, but when I found out that the person who reported it was H, I thought, ‘Is he really that honorable? “I thought, ‘Can I do it?’ I was dumbfounded and a little angry,” he said.

L said about H, “I remember that friend who really enjoyed everything and had a bad image among his juniors,”adding, “Even among classmates of the same age, everyone who knew about this must have been dumbfounded. The rumors at the time were also bad.”insisted. L also said, “If Ara was ‘strong and weak,’ H was just ‘strong and weak, weak.’” He added, “I don’t remember much because it was already 20 years ago. What I remember most about H is going around to borrow gym clothes, and picking them up and leaving them behind. “I remember giving it to the kids and finding it. Looking at the article, it looks like H dropped out,”he added.

L also shared his memories of the group ‘Big XX’ to which Kim Heera belonged. Dispatch claimed that ‘Big XX’ was an Iljin group that was notorious for assault, verbal abuse, and extortion. Kim Heera explained that although she was a member of ‘Big XX’, she did not directly participate in the school violence and was a bystander.

In response, L said, “The ‘Big XX’ friends weren’t all bad. Among them, there were some who were soft and some who were overbearing. There were friends who just liked to hang out. There were also friends who became ‘Big XX’ simply because they dressed well. “It’s a pity that they seem to be pushing it too hard. I don’t know exactly what the ‘Big XX’ friends did behind their backs, but at least from what I can see, except for a few, there aren’t really any friends that would be a problem.”

L said about ‘Big XX’, “If you think about it, there are friends who crossed the line a little too much when they first entered school and in the first and second grades, but most of them are friends who play a little well at school in the second and third grades, and are a little more friendly. “I was a friend who my older sisters and brothers knew a lot and my younger brothers followed, but nothing serious happened. I don’t remember having any big troubles,” he recalled.

When suspicions of school violence against Kim Heera were raised on the 6th, L wrote a post directly defending Kim Heera on an online community bulletin board on the 8th, two days later. According to the article at the time, L said that she made a big mistake with her friend at the beginning of the first year of the semester, and then became distant from the friends she used to hang out with and was bullied. However, Kim Hee-ra, who was in another class at the time, became her friend, and her relationships with other friends improved. He was reported to have recovered. L confessed that she still hasn’t forgotten Kim Hi-eo’s words, saying, ‘Let’s be friends.’

Regarding the reason for writing the article, L said, “I’m sure Eora has made some mistakes in the past, but I was trying to do well anyway, but it seems like she has completely become the instigator,”and “As someone who knows Eora, I thought, ‘This isn’t right.’”He said.

L also revealed a text message conversation he had with Heera Kim two years ago.

L said, “After writing the post, I read all the comments one by one, and there were a lot of people who asked, ‘Why didn’t you post stories like this until after the incident broke out?’ I kept in touch with Era occasionally after graduating from middle school, but after graduating from high school, I lost contact with her. I was so grateful to her for nearly 20 years that I kept watching her, but I couldn’t muster up the courage to contact her. Then, when she told me that she would appear in the drama ‘Monster’, it was the day after my birthday, and I thought of her a lot, so I contacted her through DM. “I expressed my gratitude to Eora at that time, and I didn’t really see any reason to bring that up somewhere else,” he explained.

L looks on with bitterness and regret at the ongoing truth battle over Kim Heera. L confessed, “I have a friend who claims to be a victim… but I wish more people would listen to their stories. I hope they don’t listen to one side of the story too much and push it too far. I hope it gets resolved well. He’s a really good friend. It’s a pity.”

Of course, in complex human relationships where conflict and reconciliation are repeated, school days may remain as good memories for some and bad memories for others. A ‘perfect’ relationship that is recognized and loved by everyone is close to impossible. L emphasized, “Criticize what needs to be criticized (to Heera), but there are also good aspects, so I hope you will think about it once more.”

At the end of the interview, he said, “I was also a bystander.”

“I saw an article saying that bystanders are also school violence, and when I think about it, even I, who was bullied, was a bystander. I wasn’t mature enough at the time, so I just stood by and thought, ‘If it’s not just me, I’m glad it’s not me.’ If that’s the case, then no one can be blameless. I guess it can’t be done.” In this dark reality where one must first hate, sympathize, or remain silent in order to avoid being hated, some people still have no choice but to live as victims, perpetrators, or bystanders.

Reporter Seongyeol Yoon bogo109@mt.co.kr