Teacher who rebuffed 'school bully' rumors about RESCENE's Woni deletes account, leaves final message

The former homeroom teacher who publicly rebuffed rumors that RESCENE member Woni had been a school bully has deleted her social media account, leaving a final post before doing so.

The user, identified only as A, who said she was Woni's homeroom teacher during middle school, wrote Sunday on social media: "Hello. This is Woni's homeroom teacher. Now that the matter seems to have been resolved, I am going to delete this account."

She thanked followers for their support and asked them to continue to look kindly on Woni, but added that she had a few words for those who had started the controversy. "There is something I must say to the people who created this dispute, so I will leave a few lines before I go," she wrote.

In her post, she reflected on what she saw as a breakdown in genuine communication in the social media age. "Contrary to what textbooks say — that social media has made it possible to connect anytime, anywhere — this era seems to lack real communication, overflowing instead with one-sided statements while understanding and consideration have disappeared," she wrote. She added that watching schools struggle to mend relationships that could easily be resolved through conversation — because a culture of filing complaints had taken hold — only deepened that feeling.

She also wrote that anyone can make mistakes and unintentionally hurt others, and that reflecting on oneself before criticizing or condemning others can help one understand their words and actions.

Quoting the Confucian saying "삼인행 필유아사" — meaning that among any three people walking together, one will have something to teach you — she expressed hope for a world where people look first for others' strengths and understand their shortcomings with generosity, rather than scrutinizing them with suspicion.

She closed by recalling her original wish when she decided to become a teacher: to be surrounded by good people. "I also believe that if I guide my students well and send them out into the world, that wish will one day come true," she wrote. "I hope we can all love ourselves first, and live lives where that love overflows and extends to others."

Earlier, another social media user had posted a claim that Woni had been a bully during her middle school years.

In response, A created a social media account specifically to rebuff the allegation. She testified that Woni "was a student who would often give candy to teachers and say 'I love you,'" and that Woni had served as a student council officer, faithfully participated in school activities including an anti-bullying campaign, and maintained good friendships that continued to the present. She appealed for an end to "indiscriminate criticism based on baseless posts."

After the rebuttal emerged, the user who had made the bully claim deleted both the post and the account.