bullying problem?

So I noticed whenever I consume S. Korean shows, comics and stories, bullying is a central theme. And that makes sense, since most of these stories include teenagers-young adults. However, the bullying can be extreme. I’m used to violent bullying here in Western society and I’m used to seeing it on TV. however, I notice that in S. Korean media, it’s borderline torture? And not many people do anything about it, so there’s a lot of bystanders.

I know some of this media is based off real life cases (example: The Glory), so I assume bullying can be like that irl. But why is bullying so extreme there? I understand media exaggerates everything and I’m keeping that in mind. I understand bullying in general is because of class, status, appearance, etc.

I’m just curious…is it really like that in SK?