"Boyhood" Director Comments the K-Drama Does Not Aim to Glorify School Violence

Director Lee Myung Woo comments on the themes of Boyhood and the message it tries to deliver.

Boyhood is set in the 1980s in Onyang, Chungcheong Province, and tells the story of Jang Byung Tae, a pushover who unexpectedly becomes a boss overnight.

During an interview for the Coupang Play's original series, the director said, "The focus was to start with the story of hardships the weak Byung Tae experiences and slowly move on to the message that I am trying to convey."

Boyhood depicts the consequences Byung Tae faces as a result of impersonating Gyeong Tae, who is known as the best fighter. This has some netizens believing that Byung Tae got what he deserved, which raises concerns that it can be perceived that the K-drama justifies school violence. 

Director Lee Myung Woo responded, "During the planning stage, I anticipated these views might emerge. But I think what the series does is give viewers a task. It could have just been a smooth comedy, but I thought that should not be the case. Continuously posing questions, raising issues, questioning who did what wrong at the fundamental level, especially concerning Byung Tae's actions, and the mere ability to contemplate such thoughts throws themes at the audience."

He added, "We're neither glorifying school violence nor implying that Byeong Tae did something wrong."

Regarding concerns that the comedy genre trivializes school violence, he stated, "I think that is the strength and power of comedy, but also a point of concern. I was aware of the genre's characteristics, so I realized that, regardless of the intention, people might perceive it differently when it is trivialized. That's why we have an age limit for the audience."

He continued, "There is no intention to show that violence in an aesthetic way. The purpose is to have viewers reconsider through comedy. We approached it [the theme] cautiously, and I believe we are progressing well in that regard."

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