According to OSEN on March 21st, a number of elementary and middle schools, mostly in Jeonju, have announced a “Guidance letter to prevent the spread of ‘Pyramid Game‘.”
The guidance letter said, “The phenomenon of group bullying disguised as a game is spreading in schools due to TVING’s recently released series ‘Pyramid Gamge'” , adding “‘Pyramid Game’ deals with the school violence issues in class and school. It depicts a game in which students are divided into ranks based on a vote and students in higher ranks can bully students in lower ranks” .
It emphasized, “Starting as a game, the ‘Pyramid Game’ is likely to produce serious school violence (group bullying) that harms specific targets” , adding “We ask for active engagement and guidance from parents so that a game freely played among the students don’t become seeds for crimes” .
TVING’s original series “Pyramid Game” , which aired the last episode on March 21st, centers around the brutal survival of students in Class 2-5 at Baekyeon Girls’ High School as they gradually fall into school violence by participating in a game that divides the class into perpetrators, victims, and bystanders through a monthly vote.
Based on a popular webtoon of the same name, “Pyramid Game” shows the students being ranked from grades A to F in a vote. Lower-ranking students are subject to harassment, such as cleaning the classroom, serving meals, and becoming targets of emotional attacks. This game portrays a classroom as a miniature version of real society to reflect issues in real life and draw sympathy from viewers.
In the last episode, “Pyramid Game” , the female lead Sung Su-ji (Kim Ji-yeon) and the students of Class 2-5 voluntarily put an end to the game, giving thrill and touching moments to viewers. However, it also led to concerns over the side effects of the school violence story.